NCAA Coral Gables Regional Central

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami will host the first and second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship this weekend at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Action gets underway with a pair of matches on Friday, May 13, with the regional championship match set to follow on Saturday, May 14.

The host Hurricanes earned a No. 7 national seed and will serve as the top seed in the regional. They will face No. 4 seed FIU on Friday at 1 p.m. Prior to that match, No. 2 seed Texas and No. 3 seed USF will square off at 10 a.m. The winner of each match will move to Saturday’s 1 p.m. regional final.

Miami (18-6) is an NCAA host for the seventh straight season. The Canes have advanced out of regional play and into the Sweet 16 each of the past five seasons. This year’s team, singles and doubles championships will be held in Palo Alto, Calif. from May 19-30.

Friday’s match will mark the third meeting this season between UM and FIU (13-6), with the Canes winning the first two meetings on Jan. 29 (5-2) and on Feb. 11 (7-0). Texas (16-7) and USF (11-11) faced each other in Austin on Feb. 25, with the Longhorns winning 5-2.

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Tickets are currently available for the 2011 NCAA Coral Gables Regional by calling 1-800-GO-CANES. Fans can also stop by the UM Ticket Office in the Hecht Athletic Center or wait and purchase tickets at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center gates on Friday and Saturday.

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Miami will be led by sixth-ranked senior Bianca Eichkorn, who was named ACC Player of the Year after finishing the regular season with a 20-2 mark in the Canes’ No. 1 position. Aeriel Ellis (Texas), Irene Rehberger (USF) and Liset Brito (FIU) are the other top singles players in the regional.