No. 9 Miami Ready For ITA National Team Indoors

Feb. 6, 2008

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The ninth-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team is set to make its fourth consecutive appearance at the 21st annual ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. this weekend, when the Hurricanes open play against No. 13 William & Mary, Thursday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

The event, the nation’s most prestigious indoor team tournament, features 16 teams, including 14 teams currently ranked in the ITA Top 20. Play opens Thursday at 10 a.m. ET and concludes Sunday, Feb. 10 with the championship match set for 12 p.m. ET.

Miami (3-0) comes in after three straight wins at home against Florida Atlantic, No. 31 Florida International and No. 30 Michigan to open the dual match season. William & Mary (4-1) is coming off wins over then-No. 48 Virginia and No. 71 Princeton this past week. If Miami is to advance past William & Mary Thursday, it will face the winner of No. 1 Stanford and Baylor on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

This year’s field includes the top four teams in the ITA rankings (No.1 Stanford, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Northwestern and No. 4 Georgia Tech) and teams ranked 6-9 (No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 California, No. 8 Southern Cal and UM). The remaining eight teams include teams ranked 11-14 (No. 11 Baylor, No. 12 Fresno State, William & Mary and No. 14 North Carolina), as well as No. 16 Clemson, No. 19 Notre Dame, No. 39 Arkansas and No. 75 Wisconsin.

The Atlantic Coast conference is tied with the Pac-10 in having a tournament-high four representatives in this year’s field.

UM has reached the quarterfinal round in each of the last three seasons. Last season, the `Canes beat host Wisconsin, 7-0, in the opening round before losing a tight, 4-3, battle with No. 8 Northwestern. UM’s best showing at the championships came in 1988 when the Hurricanes reached the semifinal round.

For live updates and updated brackets, visit the ITA’s tournament website.

First Round Schedule (Thursday, Feb. 7)
10 a.m. session
#6 California vs. Clemson
#3 Northwestern vs. Fresno State
#2 UCLA vs. North Carolina

2 p.m. session
#7 Southern California vs. Arkansas
#5 Georgia vs. Notre Dame

6:30 p.m. session
#1 Stanford vs. Baylor
#8 Miami vs. William & Mary
#4 Georgia Tech vs. Wisconsin

All times Eastern