49ers To Face New Mexico In 1st Round
Beach and Lobos tangle on May 12 at 11 am at USC
May 3, 2006 LONG BEACH, CA-- The No. 27-ranked Long Beach State women's tennis team will face No. 46-ranked University of New Mexico in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. The 49ers (21-4), the No. 2 seed in the USC bracket, will face the Lobos on Friday, May 12 at 11 am at Marks Stadium on the campus of USC. USC (17-3), the No. 3 overall national seed, will take on Army (15-12) at 2 pm in Friday's other first round pairing. Friday's winners meet on Saturday at 2 pm with that winner advancing to the NCAA Team Championships at Stanford on May 18-29.
"I'm very excited that we get to see someone we haven't seen before," said 49er Head Coach Jenny Hilt-Costello. "Obviously New Mexico is a very strong team. They will be a good matchup for us, but I think we have a good shot at getting to see USC in the second round."
The 49ers are making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and their fourth overall. Last year the 49ers were a No. 3 seed at the UCLA bracket and lost to the University of Washington in the first round. The 49ers are 0-3 all-time in NCAA matches. Freshman Hannah Grady was recently named as the Big West Player and Freshman of the Year. Grady is ranked No. 67 in singles play this season and she and Jessica Weeks are ranked No. 41 in doubles. Sandra Rocha and Katy Williams are ranked No. 57 in doubles.
New Mexico comes into the tournament with a record of 14-8 and a national ranking of No. 46. The Lobos fell to No. 1-seed TCU in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament in their last match. New Mexico has lost five of its last six matches. Leading the way for UNM is senior Maja Kovacek who is ranked No. 31 in singles action. Junior Iva Gersic is ranked No. 81 in singles and that duo of Gersic and Kovacek are ranked No. 4 nationally in doubles.
USC is 17-3 overall and tied for No. 2 in the nation. Six USC players are ranked in the top 101 in the country in singles and three doubles team are ranked in the top 54. Freshman Amanda Fink is No. 7 singles and sophomore Lindsey Nelson checks in at No. 18. Army 15-12 on the season and claimed a spot in the championships by virtue of winning the Patriot League title. They defeated Colgate (4-0) and Bucknell (4-0) for the league title. |
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