The Oregon women’s tennis team is headed to its second-consecutive NCAA Women’s Championships, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
The 29th-ranked Ducks (16-7 overall, 3-5 Pacific-10 Conference) are slated as the No. 2 seed in its four-team regional held in Palo Alto, Calif. Oregon will battle Fresno State (16-8) in the first round of the 64-team tournament May 13.
“Fresno is a tough team and we look forward to the challenge,” Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said.
“I am proud of the way our team performed this season and confident last season’s postseason experience will help us.”
Fresno State features just one ranked singles player — Katharina Winterhalter at No. 99. The Bulldogs earned their NCAA Tournament berth after winning their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference tournament April 23 when they defeated Rice 4-0.
The Bulldogs are riding a lot of momentum heading into the postseason after having won eight matches in a row by a combined score of 42-7.
Fresno State head coach Simon Thibodeau said the Ducks will pose a “big test” for his team.
“Although we haven’t played them this year, we are familiar with how good they are,” Thibodeau said. “They have had a very good year and certainly won’t be intimidated by the environment of playing in an NCAA Tournament. It’s important this time of year to take things one match at a time, so that’s what our focus is right now.”
The Bulldogs have won six of the seven matches played in the series history. The last time the two teams met, Fresno State pulled off a 4-2 victory.
If Oregon advances to the second round, the Ducks will play either Army or No. 1 Stanford, which finished the season undefeated at 21-0.
The NCAA national champion will be crowned May 22 at the University of Georgia in Athens.
— Alex Tam