Miami To Host BIG EAST Tennis Championships

April 26, 2004

Tournament Brackets in PDF Format
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CORAL GABLES, Fla.- The BIG EAST Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held Thursday, April 29 through Saturday, May 1 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the University of Miami campus. Admission is free.

The Miami women enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed, while the men are the No. 3 seed. Notre Dame earned the No. 1 seed on the women’s side, while Virginia Tech is the No. 1 seed in the men’s bracket.

Both brackets will run simultaneously. Thursday at 9 a.m., No. 4 seed Virginia Tech will play No. 5 seed Syracuse on the women’s side followed by No. 3 Boston College vs. No. 6 Rutgers at Noon.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seeded St. John’s will face No. 5 seed Rutgers in the first round at 9 a.m. followed by No. 3 Miami versus No. 6 Boston College at Noon.

The women’s bracket will continue with the winner of Virginia Tech/Syracuse facing No. 1 seed Notre Dame at 9 a.m. Friday. The winner of the BC/Rutgers contest will play No. 2 seed Miami at Noon on Friday. The championship will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The men’s bracket will continue with the winner of the St. John’s/Rutgers match facing No. 1 Virginia Tech Friday at 9 a.m. followed by No. 2 Notre Dame facing the winner of the Miami/BC matchup at Noon on Friday. The men’s championship will be held Saturday at Noon.

A consolation bracket with first and second round losers will also be played to determine final BIG EAST standings.

WOMEN’S PREVIEW
* Defending champion NOTRE DAME (10-10) is seeded first and seeks back-to-back titles for the first time since 1996-97. The Irish (No. 27 nationally) are the only undefeated team in conference play (3-0) and have three wins over top 25 teams. ND is led by senior Alicia Salas, who is ranked 19th in the country with a 23-15 record, including 14 wins over ranked opponents.
* The 2003 runner-up, MIAMI, is the No. 2 seed and wrapped up the regular season with a 15-3 record, including a 12-0 mark at the Neil Schiff Tennis Complex. Junior Megan Bradley is the fourth-ranked singles player in the nation and leads the No. 23 nationally-ranked Hurricanes with an 18-1 record, while freshman Audrey Banada posted a 17-1 mark her rookie season.
* BOSTON COLLEGE is seeded third and searches for its first title since 1990. The Eagles finished the season with eight-straight victories for a 13-5 record, including an 8-0 home mark. Four players have won 70 percent of their matches and all six starters boast records over .500.
* Fourth-seeded VIRGINIA TECH looks for its first chance at the conference title after posting a 13-12 record, including a 6-2 mark versus BIG EAST opponents. Sophomore Anat Elazari is currently ranked 92nd nationally and leads the Hokies with a 12-10 mark at the number one position.
* SYRACUSE and RUTGERS wrap-up the women’s seedings at the number five and six spots.

MEN’S PREVIEW
* VIRGINIA TECH, this year’s top seed, will look to win its first BIG EAST title since joining the league four years ago. The Hokies have won nine of their last 11 matches and are ranked No. 47 nationally. Tech is led by senior Andreas Laulund, who is currently ranked 49th in the nation.
* Last year’s runner-up, NOTRE DAME, is seeded second and will look to reclaim its title from 2002 after a second place finish a year ago. This Irish are currently the highest ranked BIG EAST team (33rd) in the country and hold a 13-8 record. Senior Luis Haddock is ranked 57th in singles with a 19-10 mark.
* Third-seeded MIAMI won last year’s championship and looks for its eighth BIG EAST crown. The Hurricanes finished the regular season ranked 49th in the nation with a 12-7 record and are led by freshman Josh Cohen, who began his career at Miami with 12 consecutive victories at the No. 1 position.
* ST. JOHN’S is the number four seed and will contend with the top three squads for its first title since 1991. The Red Storm finished the year with an 11-9 ledger and are led by sophomore David Nylen with a 15-4 singles record.
* RUTGERS and BOSTON COLLEGE round out the men’s field at the number five and six positions.