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NCAA TENNIS SINGLES and DOUBLES FIELD ANNOUNCED- The NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Committee has selected the individuals who will compete in the singles and doubles portion of the championships. Fresno State freshman Jelena Pandzic was selected to compete in both the singles and doubles tournaments.
Pandzic has dropped only four sets all year, two coming in her only loss, a 7-5, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Margarita Karnaukhova of Sacramento State on April 11. In doubles, Pandzic and partner Lucia Tallo were also rewarded with an NCAA doubles bid. The duo went 18-2 this year and ride a 13-match winning streak into the NCAA's. Fresno State plays in the West Region.
Tulsas Daniela Muscolino, the nation's 51st-ranked singles player, will be making her first NCAA Tournament appearance. Muscolino has registered a 23-7 singles record, including a 6-2 mark against ranked opponents this year. She has also earned all-WAC first team singles and doubles accolades this season. Muscolino was chosen from the Central Region.
SMUs Svetlana Kouzmenko was chosen as one of eight singles alternates. Tulsas Muscolino and Ilona Somers were chosen as doubles alternates.
First and second round competition of the team championship will be conducted May 14-16 with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., hosted by the University of Georgia. The team championship will be held May 20-23. The singles and doubles championships will be held May 24-29.
Singles and doubles brackets will not be finalized until May 23, the day prior to the start of the singles tournament.
THREE TEAMS EARN BIDS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP - WAC Champion and automatic qualifier, Fresno State, will be joined by SMU and Tulsa in the 2004 NCAA Womens Tennis Team Championship. The first round will take place May 14-16.
Fresno State, winners of three-straight WAC titles, will travel to Berkeley, Calif., and the University of California for the first and second round. The Bulldogs will take on Sacramento State in the first round. The Hornets defeated the Bulldogs, 6-1, on Easter Sunday this year. The winner will face the winner of California and Illinois State match. The NCAA berth is the ninth in a row for the women's team.
SMU, the WAC Tournament runner-up, will stay instate, traveling to Texas A&M for the first and second rounds. The Mustangs will face rival TCU in the first round. TCU defeated SMU twice this season. The winner will take on the winner of the Texas A&M and Southern University match.
Tulsa will also remain instate, facing rival Oklahoma in the first round in Norman, Okla. The winner will face the winner of the Richmond and Tulane match. The Sooners defeated the Golden Hurricane, 5-2, in Norman earlier this season.
After the first two rounds of competition, the women's round of 16 through the finals takes place in Athens, Ga., at the University of Georgia on May 20-23.
FRESNO STATE CAPTURES THIRD-STRAIGHT WAC TITLE - This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Houston, Texas at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the campus of Rice University, April 30-May 2. The 2003 champion, Fresno State, will look to win its third-straight title.
Last season, the WAC Women's Tennis Championship went to Fresno State after a 4-2 win over Tulsa. The Bulldogs won the doubles point and fought off a determined Tulsa team to win three of the singles matches. Tulsa won two of the singles match and the final match on the court was stopped at the conclusion of the match.