INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Simmons College women's tennis team will travel to Amherst, Mass. on Friday, May 13 to take on number 14 nationally-ranked University of Mary Washington at 9:00 a.m. on Amherst Tennis Courts in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The match will be played on the campus of Regional host Amherst 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-Mary Washington match will take on number eight Wesleyan University, which also received a first round bye, on Saturday, May 14 at 11:00 a.m.
The tournament bracket can be found here and the NCAA Press Release can be found here.
The Sharks are making their eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth all-time trip. Simmons is 3-8 in NCAA Tournament play and defeated Plymouth State University in last year's first round match, 5-0, before falling to Middlebury College in the second round, 5-0. The Sharks finished the season with a 10-8 record to mark the 13th straight year with double-digit victories and was a perfect 6-0 in conference action.
Mary Washington heads into NCAA Tournament play ranked 14th in the nation and is making its 18th straight trip and 28th overall appearance in the tournament. The Eagles have posted a 23-26 record in NCAA play, including a pair of NCAA Championships.
Simmons' top four players have combined for more career victories than any other quartet in school history. The Sharks are led by Theresa Reinhard (Canton, Ohio) at first singles and number one doubles. The junior has enjoyed the finest season of her career, posting a combined mark of 27-10, including 10-5 in singles action. The Co-Captain was named First Team All-Conference in singles play for the third straight year and landed a spot on the First Team Doubles squad as well. The two-time GNAC Player of the Week honoree has won four career matches in NCAA Tournament play. She paired with Meg Cokely (Haverhill, Mass.) to record a sterling 17-5 mark in doubles action this season. Cokely is the school's all-time leader in combined victories with 113, singles wins with 57 and doubles triumphs with 56 and was tabbed a First Team All-Conference selection in singles play for the fourth straight year and earned her fourth All-Conference nod in doubles play as well. The senior owns a 30-8 combined record and is 13-3 in singles action at number two. Cokely has a pair of singles victories and one doubles win in NCAA Tournament action under her belt.
Katie Crowley (Reading, Mass.) has been the mainstay at number three singles for the Sharks, registering an 8-7 mark to go with a 9-8 record in doubles play. The senior, who was a GNAC Second Team Singles selection, enters the tourney with a singles win and two doubles victories in NCAA play. Crowley partnered with Rachael Downey (Groveland, Mass.) at number two doubles. The senior saw most of her singles action at number four and posted an 8-8 record to go with a 13-10 mark in doubles play. Downey earned GNAC Second Team Singles honors for the third time and put together a terrific doubles run to capture the West Bracket of the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Championship in October and earned GNAC Player of the Week honors.
Fifth singles is held down by first year Ashley Chen (Hilo, Hawaii), who is 8-8 in singles play and 10-14 at doubles. The rookie posted an impressive 6-1, 6-1 win at number five singles in the GNAC Championship match. She has paired with sophomore Mary Matthews (Wakefield, R.I.) at number three doubles this year. Matthews is currently 8-12 in doubles play this season and combined with Chen for a gritty 9-7 victory at number three in the conference title match. Junior Ashley Pierce (Carver, Mass.) has posted an 8-9 record with most of her play coming at sixth singles. The Second Team Singles All-Conference selection counts four victories by scores of, 6-0, 6-0, among her triumphs this season.
Mary Washington posted a combined singles record of 145-67 (.684) and was 82-26 (.759) in doubles matches. The Eagles are led by number one singles player sophomore Kait Brogan (Virginia Beach, Va.), who was named the CAC Player of the Year after posting an 18-7 record. She also qualified to play in the NCAA Singles Championship and will play for the national Doubles Championship as well with partner senior Shelby Harris (Newport News, Va.). The duo combined to post a 22-2 record at first doubles. Harris will compete at number two singles after recording a 9-9 record. Junior Taylor Diffley (Southampton, N.Y.) has played primarily at number three singles for Mary Washington and owns a 19-4 record, including a perfect 8-0 mark in dual match play at third singles. Sophomore Caroline Mosberg (Glen Allen, Va.) heads into the tournament as the team's number four singles player after seeing action at number two earlier in the season. She is 11-12 on the year and will see time at number three doubles with first year Sara Fioretti (Finksburg, Md.). The pair put up an impressive 22-5 record in doubles action for the campaign. Senior Mackenzie Smith (Landisville, Pa.) has been valuable at the fifth singles spot for the Eagles with a 16-8 record and combined with Diffley to post a 15-4 record at second doubles. Senior Christina Gaul (Newtown, Pa.) rounds out the singles line-up at number six for Mary Washington with a 16-8 record.