WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army women's tennis team will take on the University of California-Berkeley in the first round of the NCAA Regional on Friday, May 9, at 11 a.m. As the team, coaches and support staff gathered in head coach Paul Peck's living room, the 2008 Patriot League Champion Black Knights found out that they will travel to Berkeley, Calif., as the full field was revealed on ESPNews Tuesday afternoon.
Playing in the NCAA Regional is familiar territory for Peck, who has led his team to four straight NCAA berths and eighth in the last nine years. In each of the last three years, Army has traveled to the Golden State.
“It is our pleasure and an honor to represent the Patriot League in the NCAA Regional again this year,” Peck said. “This is the deepest and one of the most talented teams that I have coached at Army, and we’re looking to get over the hump of just participating and come away with a win.”
The NCAA Tennis Championship is a 64-team (31 automatic bids, 33 at-large bids), single elimination tournament. Four teams will compete at 16 different campus sites around the nation with the winner of each regional bracket earning a trip to the finals, which will be played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Cal is the eighth overall seed and will host Army, Louisiana State and Washington State in the regional round. Match times are yet to be determined. The Bears come into the tournament with a 16-5 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-10 with a 6-2 mark. Freshman Marina Cossou, ranked No. 4 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) system, bolsters a formidable Bears lineup. Susie Babos and Stephanie Kusano also land 12th in the national doubles rankings.
Army has met Cal twice in the NCAA Regionals with the Bears advancing in both brackets. Cal topped Army, 9-0, in the Black Knights’ first-ever trip to the NCAAs in1999. The two teams squared-off again in the 2003 tournament with Cal coming out on top, 4-0.
“Cal will no doubt be a formidable opponent for us in a tough bracket, but we plan to prepare to the best of our abilities and look forward to the challenge,” Peck said.
Potential second-round opponents, LSU and Washington State both rank among the nation’s top-50. The Tigers enter the NCAAs as the ITA’s 27th best team and finished the regular season 14-9 overall and 6-7 in the Southeastern Conference. LSU’s ace, Megan Falcon, is ranked 15th in the nation in singles and is currently 22nd in doubles with teammate Mykala Hedberg. No. 42 Washington State went 16-9 in 2008 and 0-2 in the Pac-10.
Army has traveled to California in each of the last three years – Stanford (2005), Southern California (2006), Fresno State (2007) – and left with a 4-0 defeat each time. The Black Knights have not scored a point in seven previous NCAA trips.
At 26-7 (.788), the Black Knights set an Army record for wins in a season and head into the regional riding an eight-match win streak, capped off in thrilling fashion in a 4-3 win over Bucknell in the Patriot League Championship.
Army will travel 12 athletes to Berkley, Calif., with the lineup expected to remain the same as per the Patriot League Championships. The singles lineup will include freshman Anne Houghton (No. 1), junior Niki Flach (2), junior Sarah Giles-Madden (3), sophomore Kristin Beehler (4), freshman Caitlin Finnegan (5) and senior co-captain Diana Alquero (6). Houghton and Flach should top the doubles lineup, followed by Giles-Madden and Beehler. Senior co-captain Christine Limsiaco and junior Bridie Burke will fill the No. 3 doubles slot. Junior Jessica Shurtz, sophomore Paige Ford and freshmen Michael Tollerton and Jessica Ahn will also make the trip as alternates.
Northwestern earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, followed by No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Stanford. Click on the link above to view the complete tournament bracket.
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