May 3, 2016
Complete Bracket | Selection Show
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The reigning national champion Vanderbilt women’s team will make its 22nd-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament as announced by the governing body Tuesday afternoon.
Selected as one of 64 squads to make it to the big dance, Vanderbilt owns the sixth overall seed and will play host to the No. 31 Clemson Tigers, the Conference-USA champion Rice Owls (41) and OVC champion Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars.
“First and foremost we are delighted to host,” said head coach Geoff Macdonald. “It’s a real honor to host a regional. I hope Nashville tennis fans can come out and support this great team. I was surprised at some of the selections the committee made in terms of seeding, but it really didn’t affect us. There are so many good teams, that it’s more a question of how well we prepare in the next ten days for the tournament. We’ll be done with final exams, which I think will really help us, but this is my favorite time of the year. Getting ready for the NCAA tournament and just focusing on tennis… you can visibly see the players relax. We still haven’t played our best tennis yet, and that’s what we’re going to try to do… peak in the tournament.”
All four teams will clash in regional action May 13-14th at the Vanderbilt Currey Tennis Center, where the Commodores own a 32-0 mark that dates back to April 14, 2013.
The first match of the regional will take place Friday, May 13th at 1:00 pm CT, where the Tigers (10-10) take on the Owls (13-9). Out of the three visiting team, Vandy most recently faced Clemson. The ‘Dores swept CU in the sweet sixteen last season in Waco, Texas in route to the National Championship.
Vanderbilt boasts a 19-5 dual record and takes on SIUE at 4:00 pm on the 13th. The two winners of Friday’s matches will collide in the second round of play, which will take place at 1:00 pm CT on May 14th.
The rest of the Commodores’ pod is comprised of the 11th-seeded Auburn Tigers, Alcorn State, Arizona State and NC State. The top team from each of the 16 sites advances to the NCAA Team Championships in Tulsa, Okla. May 19-24.