University of Connecticut Athletics
Women's Tennis Earns 11th Seed; BIG EAST Field Set
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Women's Bracket []
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have earned the No. 1 seed in both the men’s and women’s BIG EAST Tennis Championships. The championships are set to begin on April 17 at the USF Tennis Courts in Tampa, Fla. This is the fourth consecutive season that the Bulls have hosted the BIG EAST championships.
Nine men’s teams and 12 women’s squads will compete for the conference titles. The winners of each will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, set to begin on May 11-12 on campus sites to be determined.
Defending men’s champion Notre Dame has earned the No. 1 seed for the 10th overall time and fourth consecutive season. The Fighting Irish, ranked No. 33 in the April 8 ITA Rankings, have taken the BIG EAST title six times and have appeared in the championship match every year since joining the league in the 1995-96 season. Junior Brett Helgeson and senior Sheeva Parbhu lead ND and are ranked No. 42 and No. 93 on the ITA singles list and No. 54 on the ITA doubles list.
The Notre Dame women, BIG EAST champions two of the last three seasons, have earned the No. 1 seed for the 12th time in 13 years. The No. 16 Irish have reached the title match in all 12 years since becoming a BIG EAST member and look to capture their seventh championship. Senior Brook Buck and junior Kelcy Tefft have been the No. 1-ranked duo on the ITA list since March 4, and have earned 10 wins in 11 matches since receiving the ranking. Tefft is also ranked No. 41 on the singles list, while sophomore Cosmina Ciobanu is No. 122.
The Louisville men, ranked No. 37 by the ITA, have earned the No. 2 seed for the third straight season and are led by No. 39-ranked Austen Childs. The freshman is also one-half of the No. 38-ranked doubles team, along with classmate Simon Childs.
The No. 44-ranked USF men enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and are led by No. 84-ranked freshman Lucas Jovita.
Marquette and DePaul round out the men’s top five teams as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively. Georgetown, St. John’s, Villanova and Connecticut complete the bracket as the Nos. 6-9 seeds.
Louisville follows Notre Dame in the women’s bracket as well as the No. 2 seed. The Cardinals, ranked No. 39 by the ITA, have seen much success in the polls this season, having broken the previous program-best ranking of No. 50.
Defending-BIG EAST champion USF enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. The No. 42-ranked Bulls, who won last year’s title as the No. 2 seed, are led by freshman Janette Bejikova, the No. 57-ranked singles player.
Marquette has earned the No. 4 seed, while No. 59 DePaul is the No. 5 seed. Syracuse repeats as the No. 6 seed, with St. John’s, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia rounding out the top 10 as the Nos. 7-10 seeds, respectively. Connecticut and Georgetown complete the bracket as the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds.
The men’s and women’s championships will both begin on April 17. The men’s tournament opens with a play-in match between the No. 8 Wildcats and the No. 9 Huskies at 9 a.m. on the USF P.E. Courts. The winner will meet the No. 1 Irish on April 18 at 9 a.m., also at the P.E. Courts. The Nos. 2-7 seeded squads will also begin play on April 18.
The top four women’s teams have earned byes, and the Nos. 5-12 seeds will open the championship on April 17.
Both championship matches are set for 9 a.m. on April 20 at the USF Varsity Courts.
Women's Seedings
1 Notre Dame
2 Louisville
3 USF
4 Marquette
5 DePaul
6 Syracuse
7 St. John’s
8 Rutgers
9 Pittsburgh
10 West Virginia
11 Connecticut
12 Georgetown
