Women's Tennis To Host NCAA Regional For Fourth Straight Year
April 29, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami has been named one of 16 regional hosts for the first two rounds of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships, the NCAA Selection Committee announced Tuesday. No. 12 Miami (15-5) – one of just 10 teams nationally to have been selected as a regional host each of the last four seasons – will play host Quinnipiac, Notre Dame and Florida International in the Coral Gables Regional, May 9-10, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Regional action will begin Friday, May 9, when UM battles Quinnipiac (9-10) at 11 a.m. before Notre Dame (21-8) faces Florida International (13-9) at 2 p.m. The winners of Friday’s matches will square off against one another in the regional final the following morning at 11 a.m. The team that emerges from the Coral Gables Regional will travel to Tulsa, Okla. for the round of 16, May 15-20 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
“It’s really rewarding as a coach to have been awarded a regional here each of the last four years,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “It says a lot about our program and the players that have come through here over that span that have worked so hard to earn such a prestigious distinction.”
Miami, winners of seven of its last eight matches heading into next weekend’s regional, has now reached the NCAA tournament for 13 consecutive seasons, the last seven under the direction of head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. Last year, UM beat Alabama A&M and Wichita State in the 2007 Coral Gables Regional to advance into the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season.
Northwestern, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Stanford and Baylor earned the top five national seeds, with Florida, UCLA, California, Duke, Southern California and Vanderbilt earning seeds six through 11.
The Hurricanes went 8-5 against tournament teams this season with three wins coming against teams that earned national seeds for the tournament in No. 8 Cal, No. 9 Duke and No. 13 Clemson.
“I’m really excited for our players,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Hosting a regional was one of our goals we set out to accomplish before the season started and our players bought into that philosophy from day one. I’m just proud that all of our hard work and consistency this year has put us in a position that we aspire to be in as a program.”
Northwestern, Stanford, Baylor, UF, USC, Vanderbilt and three ACC teams — Georgia Tech, Clemson and UNC – join UM in having earned one of the 16 national seeds every season from 2005-2008.
UM and Quinnipiac have yet to have faced each other in the history of the two programs.
Tickets for the Coral Gables Regional are $5 for adults and $3 for students, children and senior citizens per day. To purchase tickets, contact the UM Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES.
For more information on the Coral Gables Regional, visit the women’s tennis page at www.hurricanesports.com.
Individuals selected to compete in the singles and doubles championships will be announced by 6 p.m. on Wed., April 30, via the NCAA websites (www.NCAA.com and www.NCAA.org).
Coral Gables Regional Schedule
Friday, May 9
Match 1: Quinnipiac vs. No. 12 Miami, 11 a.m.
Match 2: Notre Dame vs. FIU, 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Match 3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 – 11 a.m.
