THE FLATS — The Georgia Tech women’s tennis team will make its 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance receiving an at-large selection to the field of 64 as announced Tuesday afternoon by the NCAA. The 8th-ranked Yellow Jackets (25-4, 13-1 ACC) will face Alabama State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 13.
Tech will host first and second rounds, May 13-14, at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Admission to the regional will be free for spectators. Match times on Saturday will be 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday’s match is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
“We are happy to be hosting this year,” commented Georgia Tech head coach Rodney Harmon. “There are three great teams coming to Atlanta for the NCAA Regionals, so we should have some wonderful tennis.”
Also coming to Atlanta will be the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-8, 7-6 SEC) and the Northwestern Wildcats (14-11, 9-2 Big Ten). Mississippi State reached the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament after earning the six-seed and sits at No. 18 in the national rankings. The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs have met twice in program history with Tech owning a 2-0 mark in the series.
Tech hosted Northwestern in the regular season, edging the Wildcats 7-0 in Atlanta. The Wildcats reached the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament and are ranked No. 37 nationally. The Jackets lead the all-time series against Northwestern, 9-6.
Mississippi State and Northwestern will meet on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to Sunday.
Alabama State earned an automatic berth after winning the SWAC Championship to cap an undefeated run through the conference season and enters the tournament with a 13-8 record. The Lady Hornets claimed their third championship crown in school history and first since 1999. This will be the first meeting between Tech and Alabama State in program history.
First- and second-round competition takes place May 12-13 or 13-14 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 19-23. The event will be hosted by the University of Georgia.
Georgia Tech enters the NCAA Tournament with a 26-4 overall record and reached the title match of the ACC Championship for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2010. This marks the eighth time Tech has hosted first and second rounds and first since 2011. Last season, Tech reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Ohio State.
The NCAA singles and doubles selection announcement will be announced on Wednesday, May 3 on NCAA.com.
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