(Story courtesy of the Southwestern Sports Information Department)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The NCAA released its 2021 Women's Tennis Tournament bracket, placing the Southwestern women's tennis program in the NCAA Regionals hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Texas.
"We are extremely grateful to our administration for allowing us to play the most competitive schedule possible this year to give us a chance to earn this program-changing opportunity," head coach Billy Porter said.
Southwestern earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Trinity University for the first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship in program history. The Pirates will receive a first-round bye and face the winner of the first-round match between Millsaps and Northwestern-St. Paul this weekend.
Like Southwestern, Millsaps earned an automatic bid after winning its first conference championship in program history, winning the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Tournament. Northwestern-St. Paul won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship.
Southwestern is 15-4 this season and undefeated against NCAA Division III opponents. The Pirates are the top-ranked program in the West Region. Nina Mitrofanova was the top-ranked singles player in the region. Both are program-best marks.
This is the first team NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
