THE FLATS – Georgia Tech women’s tennis will make its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large selection to the field of 64 teams Monday night. The Yellow Jackets will travel to Florida for first and second round action this weekend.
No. 17 Georgia Tech (15-9, 7-6 ACC) will open the tournament against No. 38 UCF on Friday, May 5. The winner will face either No. 75 North Florida or host No. 16 Florida in the second round on Saturday, May 6. All action will take place at the Allred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Yellow Jackets enter the tournament off a run to the ACC Championship semifinals, defeating Syracuse, 4-0, in the second round before upending then-No. 6 Duke, 4-3, in the quarterfinals. Having defeated two top-15 programs in the last three matches, Georgia Tech jumped to No. 17 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association national polls released last week.
Last season, Tech traveled to Auburn for the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Jackets defeated Memphis in the first round before falling to Auburn, 4-3, in the second round.
Georgia Tech met UCF in regular season action in Atlanta, collecting a 4-3 decision over the Knights. UCF carries an 11-11 overall record into NCAA postseason action after advancing to the finals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Knights blanked Houston and Memphis to reach SMU in the title match.
Florida will play host this weekend, bringing a 16-7 overall mark into the weekend. The Gators reached the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, defeating Ole Miss in the quarterfinals before falling to Texas A&M in the championship. The Gators will host first- and second-round action for the third-consecutive season and 22nd time in program history.
Florida will face the ASUN Conference Champions, North Florida in first round action on Friday. The Ospreys collected the ASUN title for the second time in three years and 10th time since 2010, defeating Stetson, 4-2.
First- and second-round competition takes place May 5-6 at select campuses and each regional features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner at each site advances to super-regional competition, May 12 or 13. The super-regional winners will advance to the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., where the final eight teams will compete for the national championship, May 17-20.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GT_WTEN), Instagram (GT_WTEN), Facebook (Georgia Tech Women’s Tennis) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com
