April 28, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M women's tennis team earned its 10th consecutive bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships and will face SMU at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, May 9.
The winner advances to the second round and will take on the winner between No. 4 seed Baylor (24-4) and Texas-Arlington (18-6) on Sunday. The second-round winner advances to the Round of 16 to be played at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station beginning May 15.
Exact times of the first- and second-round matches, as well as ticket information will be posted as soon as information becomes available.
The Aggies, who are making their 15th overall NCAA appearance, are 14-10 and ranked No. 39 in the nation after advancing to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships last weekend in Norman, Okla. A&M, which placed third in the Big 12 regular season with a 9-2 record, was eliminated by No. 32-ranked and second-seeded Texas, 4-2, on Saturday.
"We are excited about going to the tournament," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "This has been one of those years where we didn't get the wins that we wanted at the key times in order to assure ourselves, and when we got into conference play, our ranking started dropping because we weren't playing higher ranked teams. At this point of the season, I'm excited about being in the tournament.
"On the other hand, that doesn't mean we are just happy to be there and we are going to play one match and go home. I've been talking to the girls. They need to have blood in their eye and prove to the nation that they are not really a No. 3 seed; that they have that No. 2 seed in them with an opportunity to come away with an upset against the No. 1 seed."
SMU, ranked 23rd in the latest ITA rankings with a 27-2 record, is riding a program-best 17-match winning streak. The Mustangs won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships. It marked SMU's first tournament title in school history.
"It's definitely somebody that we are excited about playing," Kleinecke said. "It's not like we are going to play the same people, so it will have an NCAA feel. It's a match where everybody is going to have to come out and be ready to play. We say that a lot, but if every position is ready to play, we are a tough team to beat. "
"SMU is very strong up top in their lineup. They brought a couple of girls in who got started in the middle of the semester, so they are very good at that 1-2-3 area. "
Baylor earned an automatic bid by winning its fourth consecutive Big 12 tournament last weekend, defeating Texas, 4-1, in the championship match. The Lady Bears, who are hosting the NCAA first and second rounds for the fourth consecutive season, are making their 12th overall appearance in the NCAA Championships. Baylor went 11-0 in the Big 12 regular season and claimed its fifth consecutive regular-season league crown.
UTA secured its fifth automatic bid to the NCAAs after routing UTSA, 4-0, in the SLC Championship final on Sunday.
The second-round winner advances to the Round of 16 to be played at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station beginning May 15.
"It is going to be special having the final site here for the Round of 16 and also the individuals," Kleinecke said. "It would be a great honor to be able to do that. We have a long road ahead of us in order to get here, and our first stop is going to be SMU, and that is not going to be an easy match. It is going to be a close match. We need to be prepared and not look past them or anybody else. If we get a chance to compete against Baylor again, I think the girls will be extremely excited about that."
SMU holds a 14-11 lead in the all-time series against former Southwest Conference-foe A&M. The Aggies, who have won the last five meetings against the Mustangs, posted a 4-1 NCAA second-round victory when the teams last met in 2004.
A&M is 20-15 all-time against the Lady Bears. Earlier this season, Baylor notched its eighth consecutive win against the Aggies with a 6-1 victory in College Station on April 15.
A&M defeated UTA, 9-0, in the only meeting between the teams in 1996.
Thirty-one teams earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, and 33 teams received at-large bids. UCLA is the defending national-champion. Baylor earned the Big 12 automatic bid by winning the league tournament last weekend in Norman. The Big 12 also is represented by Big 12 Championship runner-up Texas.
Last year A&M defeated Washington, 4-1, in the first round to advance to the second round for the sixth straight year. The Aggies then fell to host Stanford, 4-1.
The NCAA Individual Championship participants will be posted on the NCAA Web site (www.ncaasports.com) Wednesday no later than 5 p.m.