INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Simmons College women's tennis team will travel to Brunswick, Maine on Friday, May 8 to take on Plymouth State University at Pickard Tennis Courts at 2:30 p.m. in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, it was announced today by the NCAA. The match will be played on the campus of Regional host Bowdoin College, which earned a first round bye as an at-large selection. The Sharks are one of 49 schools to compete for this year's National Championship.
The winner of the Simmons-Plymouth match will take on Middlebury College, which also received a first round bye, on Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 p.m.
The tournament bracket can be found here and the NCAA Press Release can be found here.
The Sharks are making their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth all-time trip. Simmons is 2-7 in NCAA Tournament play and defeated Gwynedd Mercy University in last year's first round match, 5-2, before falling to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the second round, 5-0. The Sharks set a school standard for victories this season, finishing the campaign with a 16-4 record, including wins in 13 of their final 15 contests and an 11-match win streak. The meeting with the Panthers will be the first-ever between the women's tennis programs.
Plymouth State University turned in a perfect 14-0 slate, including 8-0 in mark in the LEC. The Panthers are making their second trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since a 5-0 first round loss to Saint Lawrence University in 2007. Plymouth State dropped more than three games in a dual match just twice this season with 5-4 victories over Rhode Island College and Bridgewater State University.
Individually, the Sharks are a combined 92-48 (.657) in singles play and a combined mark of 49-21 (.700) in doubles action.
Sophomore first singles player Theresa Reinhard (Canton, Ohio) was named to the GNAC All-Conference First Team along with juniors Meg Cokely (Haverhill, Mass.) and Caroline Khoury (Portsmouth, Ohio). First year Han DK Le (Tra Vinh, Vietnam/Matignon HS (Mass.)) earned Rookie of the Year honors, while landing a spot on the GNAC Second Team. Head Coach Bob Rauseo was chosen as the league's Co-Coach of the Year to give him top coaching accolades for the fourth straight season and seventh time overall for his career.
Three different players were named GNAC Player of the Week with Cokely and junior Katie Crowley (Reading, Mass.) each taking the honor twice and Reinhard being tabbed once. Although Simmons does not feature a senior on its roster, its young nucleus has served it well. Two players have also earned GNAC Rookie of the Week awards, led by Le, who topped the league with five nods as the top weekly rookie in addition to classmate Mary Matthews (Wakefield, R.I.), who has garnered the accolade once.
Crowley and Cokely could be the team's hottest players right now. Both players have won nine of their last 11 respective singles matches. Crowley is having a breakout season, posting a combined 31-12 mark, primarily at fifth singles and number three doubles to provide Simmons with firepower at the bottom of the lineup. She has won 10 of her last 12 doubles tilts to contribute to a 16-6 record and combined with her doubles partner, Le, to capture the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament "D" Draw crown over competitors from Mount Holyoke College, Nichols College, Wheaton College and Babson College. Le has burst onto the collegiate tennis scene, posting a combined mark of 28-7, including a 13-0 start to her doubles career, before suffering a pair of losses to close out the season. She has seen most of her action at sixth singles, but has also shown the versatility to play higher up in the lineup as well.
Cokely has been the team's most consistent player at the top of the lineup. The junior owns a 17-5 record to lead the squad in singles wins from the number two spot. She's also registered an 11-8 mark at first doubles and is among the winningest players ever in school history. Reinhard is 10-11 from the top position in the singles lineup, but has won six of her last 10 matches, including a gutty three-set effort in the GNAC Championship. She has been solid in doubles play with a 13-7 record to force her way into the number one doubles slot with Cokely. Number three singles player junior Rachael Downey (Groveland, Mass.) owns a 21-19 overall mark, including 14-8 in doubles play. She has been solid at number two doubles with Khoury, who has flourished since joining Downey. The pair has registered a stellar 9-3 record since September 28.
One of the Sharks' keys to success this season has been their depth. Following their top six players in the lineup, the rest of the roster has combined to post a staggering 19-2 record in singles play and 18-4 in doubles action and has proven quite able to play in the regular lineup at any time. Matthews has opened some eyes with a combined 9-1 mark, including 7-0 in singles play, while sophomore Ashley Pierce (Carver, Mass.) (1-2 singles, 4-1 doubles) and first years Lilli Blumkin (Del Mar, Calif.) (2-0 singles, 1-0 doubles) and Winnie Yee (South San Francisco, Calif.) (1-0 singles, 1-0 doubles) have proved their mettle as well.