Women's Tennis Will Face Tournament Host Wisconsin First Day of National Indoors
Jan. 30, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – The fifth ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team will make their third consecutive appearance at the 20th USTA/ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships, February 1-3. The Hurricanes (2-0, 0-0 ACC) are set to face tournament host Wisconsin as the No. 3 seed in the first round at the Neilson Tennis Stadium at 3:30 p.m. CT.
As college tennis’ premier indoor team tournament, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship fields 16 of the nation’s top teams and will serve as a preview of the teams to beat in May. The other teams invited to the annual tournament are No. 6 Baylor, No. 30 BYU, No. 11 California, No. 17 Clemson, No. 7 Georgia Tech, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 1 Stanford, No. 16 TCU, No. 15 UCLA, No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 13 Virginia Commonwealth, and host Wisconsin.
This is Miami’s third consecutive appearance in the National Indoors posting an 8-10 record in six appearances. The Hurricanes had their best showing in 1988 when they reached the semifinals.
In the two previous seasons, the Hurricanes reached the quarterfinals of the tournament. Last season Miami posted a 5-2 defeat over then No. 52 Wisconsin in the first round, before falling to then No. 15 Texas, 4-3 in the quarterfinals.
This season, the Atlantic Coast Conference placed four schools in the tournament, the most out of any of the seven conferences represented. Miami will be joined by conference foes No.7 Georgia Tech, No.8 North Carolina and No. 17 Clemson.
Scouting the Badgers:
Wisconsin (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) loses just one player from the 2005-06 roster. The 10-player line-up opened the dual season with two back-to-back wins in their home-opener defeating Illinois-Chicago, 7-0 and Eastern Michigan, 6-1.
Leading the Badgers to an 11-5 overall singles record, senior Caitlin Burke earned her highest collegiate ranking of No. 17, the highest of any Big Ten player. During the fall, Burke won four matches at the ITA All-American Tournament before falling to eventual champion, California’s Suzi Babos. Last year she was the only Wisconsin player represented at the NCAA Championship.
Wisconsin has served as host of the event since the tournament’s inception in 1988.In 19 appearances, the Badgers have posted a 10-44 record.
The Hurricanes hold a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Badgers. In the last meeting between the two programs, Miami defeated Wisconsin 5-3 on Feb. 2, 2006.
Thursday, February 1 – First Round
9 am #1 Stanford vs. Vanderbilt
9 am #8 California vs. Virginia Commonwealth
9 am #4 Georgia Tech vs. Pepperdine
9 am #5 North Carolina vs. TCU
3:30 pm #6 Northwestern vs. UCLA
3:30 pm #3 Miami (Fla.) vs. Wisconsin
3:30 pm #7 Baylor vs. BYU
3:30 pm #2 Notre Dame vs. Clemson
*All times Central
