April 29, 2008
ATLANTA – The third-ranked Georgia Tech women’s tennis team will serve as a host team for first- and second-round action in the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships after receiving an at-large bid, the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets (19-5), the No. 3 national seed, will face Alcorn State (13-12) at 12 noon Friday, May 9, while Illinois (12-10) meets Tennessee (14-9) at 3 p.m. in the first round at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The winners of Friday’s matches will square off at 1 p.m. Saturday in the second round for a slot in the NCAA Round of 16, which will be held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla. May 15-20. At the conclusion of the team championships, singles and doubles championships will also be held at the University of Tulsa May 21-26.
ATLANTA REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 9
Match 1: Georgia Tech (19-5) vs. Alcorn State (13-12), 12 noon
Match 2: Illinois (12-10) vs. Tennessee (14-9), 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Match 3: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 1 p.m.
TICKETS
Single Day, Adult — $5
Single Day, Student — $3
Single Day, Child — $3
All tickets will be sold at the gate, which opens at 11 a.m. Friday and 12 noon Saturday. Fans may also call 1-888-TECH-TIX for details.
“We are excited about the postseason,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “There are such good memories for us from last year. It will be nice to have exams behind us where we can really prepare to be at our very best. We are excited about the opportunity to host again and I think it’s just a credit to the hard work the girls have put in this year to put themselves in a situation to be able to host. We don’t take that for granted.”
With the 2008 bid, Georgia Tech will be making its ninth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships after never earning a bid prior to 2000. The Yellow Jackets are 14-7 all-time in NCAA competition, and have advanced to the second round in seven of eight appearances in the postseason tournament, including their best showing last season, winning the national title in Athens, Ga.
The Yellow Jackets have hosted a regional in each of the last three seasons, posting wins over Winthrop and Pepperdine in 2005, Southeastern Louisiana and Pennsylvania in 2006 and Furman and Kentucky last year.
The Yellow Jackets received their sixth at-large bid to the tournament after earning automatic bids in each of the last three seasons.
Northwestern (26-1), whose only loss of the season was to the Yellow Jackets in the ITA National Indoor Team Championships in February, is the championship’s top seed. Georgia (20-4), the host school for the 2007 NCAA Tennis Championships, is the No. 2 seed. The remaining seeds are (in order): Georgia Tech, Stanford, Baylor, Florida, UCLA, California, Duke, Southern California, Vanderbilt, Miami (Fla.), Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Fresno State.
Each of the top 16 seeds hosts a first- and second-round tournament.
The Yellow Jackets are one of eight Atlantic Coast Conference teams to earn bids to this year’s NCAA Championships.
The fields for the NCAA singles and doubles championships will be released on Wednesday at www.ncaasports.com by 6 p.m. ET.
ENTERING THE NCAA REGIONAL
Fans are directed to enter at the outer gate between the upper and lower tennis courts along Fowler Street, as there will be NO public access through the Indoor Tennis Center.
RECOMMENDED PARKING
Parking for the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Atlanta Regional and available first-come, first-served, in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum lot (Large area between coliseum and interstate off 10th Street) Friday and the Alexander Memorial Coliseum lot, O’Keefe East Parking Lot (6th Street off Fowler Street) and along Fowler Street (off 10th Street) Saturday.
DIRECTIONS TO BILL MOORE TENNIS CENTER
The Bill Moore Tennis Center is located on the campus of Georgia Tech at the corner of 10th Street and Fowler Street.
From North, Traveling South on I-75:
Exit at Northside Drive (exit 252). Turn right on Northside Drive. Turn left on 10th Street. Turn right on Fowler Street.
–See below for further directions–
From North, Traveling South on I-85:
Exit at 17th Street (exit 84). Turn right on 17th Street. Turn left on Northside Drive. Turn left on 10th Street. Turn right on Fowler Street.
–See below for further directions–
From South, Traveling North on I-75/I-85:
Exit at 10th Street. Turn left on 10th Street Turn left on Fowler Street.
–See below for further directions–
From East or West of Atlanta:
Take I-20 East or West to Atlanta. Go North on I-75/I-85. Exit at 10th Street. Turn left on 10th Street. Turn left on Fowler Street.
–See below for further directions–
To reach Bill Moore Tennis Center: Tennis center is immediately on the right.
To reach AMC Lot: From Fowler Street, turn left onto 8th Street and proceed to AMC Lot.
To reach O’Keefe Lot: From Fowler Street, turn left onto 6th Street. Entrance to O’Keefe Lot is at the end on the left.
FOR A COMPLETE COPY OF THE 2008 NCAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET, PLEASE VISIT:
http://www.ncaa.com/uploadedFiles/Sports/Tennis_(W)/Articles/Division_I/2008%20Women’s%20D-I%20Tennis%20Team%20Bracket%2029%2004%2008.pdf
