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Women's Tennis to Face No. 3 Georgia Tech in NCAA Tournament
May 1, 2007
Greenville, S.C. - The Southern Conference Champion Furman women's tennis team will head to Atlanta for a rematch of a regular-season match-up with the third-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (23-4) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The match will be played the weekend of May 11-13 at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the Georgia Tech campus. Exact times and dates will be announced on Wednesday afternoon.
"We are excited to be in the tournament," said Furman head coach Debbie Southern. "We know Georgia Tech is a top team in the country and we need to do a better job this time around. To beat a team like Georgia Tech, every player has to play a near perfect match, but there is always that chance."
Georgia Tech will serve as a host site for the first two rounds of competition, hosting Furman as well as Arizona (9-13) and Kentucky (18-7). The winners of the first-round matches will square off in the second round for a slot in the Sweet-16, to be held May 18-22 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. Tickets for the event are $5 for an adult and $3 for students and children.
Furman (16-9) earned the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning its fourth consecutive conference tournament crown, beating College of Charleston, 4-3, in the championship match. The Lady Paladins also went undefeated in the league's regular season, winning their ninth straight regular-season title. Furman has won 79 consecutive regular-season SoCon matches, dating back to the 1998-99 season. This marks Furman's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years.
Georgia Tech captured its third straight ACC Tennis Championship with a 4-1 win over Miami in the title match on April 22. The Yellow Jackets ride a 15-match winning streak into the postseason, including a 7-0 victory over Furman on April 11. That loss marks Furman's only defeat in its last 13 matches. Georgia Tech holds a 16-5 advantage in the all-time series against the Lady Paladins. The teams have never met in the postseason.
The Lady Paladins last win in the NCAA Tournament came on May 11, 2002, when they defeated Louisiana State, 4-1, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Furman fell to Kentucky, 4-0, in its last NCAA Tourney appearance on May 12, 2006.
Furman is lead by SoCon Player of the Year Laura Gioia, SoCon Tournament MVP Lauren Osborne and three seniors, Bonnie Baird, Jacqueline Eckert and Lisa Bornt-Davis, who will all be making their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship bracket consists of 64 teams that will play at 16 first- and second-round sites. The first two rounds of competition will be conducted May 11-13 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 18-22.
