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Baylor Women’s Tennis Selected For NCAA Championships

Posted at 9:16 PM, May 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-03 22:16:58-04

WACO, Texas - Baylor's 39th-ranked women's tennis team earned its 12th-straight selection to the NCAA Tennis Championship Tuesday as the 64-team bracket was unveiled by the NCAA.

"You've got to get into the tournament, and when you're in the tournament you have a chance,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “There's been times this year that we've been really good, and there's been times where we've been inconsistent, so the advantage that we have right now is we know exactly what kind of team we have.”

Making its 19th overall appearance in the NCAA Championships, Baylor will travel for the opening rounds of the event for just the second time in the last 11 years and the ninth time overall.

The Bears will hit the court Friday, May 13, at noon CT to face 26th-ranked Wake Forest. After the conclusion of that match, host school and fourth-ranked Georgia will play North Florida at 3 p.m. CT. The winners of those two matches will play on Saturday, May 14, at 3 p.m. CT for a chance to advance to the NCAA Round of 16.

“Wake Forest is coming off a great season,” Scrivano added. “I think they're having one of their best years in a long time. That’s going to be a tough match, but every match in this tournament is competitive. We've just got to get ready to play. Our preparation for Wake Forest is going to be really good because we have an entire year under our belt."

Scrivano will be making his 15th overall trip to the NCAA tournament as a head coach, including his 13th in 14 seasons at the helm of the Baylor program. The Lady Bears have made the Round of 16 in 10 of the last 11 seasons, including six appearances in the Elite Eight (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015) and two Final Four berths in 2008 and 2011. Baylor is 32-18 all-time in NCAA action and 29-12 under Scrivano.

BU is currently 17-14 on the season after losing to No. 33 Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. BU has one ranked singles player in No. 91 Blair Shankle and she partners with senior Kiah Generette to be No. 17 in the country in doubles.

Wake Forest is 19-9 on the year and went 7-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Deacons lost to No. 3 North Carolina, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship. BU is 1-1 all-time against Wake Forest, winning 4-0 in Waco on March 2, 2008, and losing the first meeting in the series in 1987. Wake Forest has two ranked players in No. 71 Kimmy Guerin and No. 108 Emma Davis. Guerin teams with Anna Ulyashchenko to be ranked No. 69 in doubles.

The fourth-ranked and fifth-seeded Georgia Bulldogs are appearing in their 30th-consecutive NCAA Championship. UGA is 20-4 on the year and lost in the SEC tournament final to third-ranked Florida. BU is 3-8 all-time against Georgia and 3-4 vs. the Bulldogs under Scrivano. The Bears took a 4-3 win over Georgia to open the 2015 season, but lost in the only meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Championships in 2001. Georgia is led by fourth-ranked Ellen Perez in singles, along with No. 28 Caroline Brinson, No. 36 Kennedy Shaffer and No. 107 Silvia Garcia.

North Florida is unranked, but earned the Atlantic Sun’s automatic berth. The Ospreys are 13-6 on the year and went 6-0 in conference play. BU and North Florida have never met.

Georgia is one of 16-host sites around the country with the winner of each advancing to the final site of the NCAA Tennis Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Team competition in Tulsa will be May 19-24, while the singles and doubles championship will take place May 25-30. Selections for those tournaments will be announced on Wednesday.

To stay current on all things Baylor Women's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorWTennis.

NCAA TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

Friday, May 13
No. 39 Baylor (17-14) vs. No. 26 Wake Forest (19-9) - Noon CT 
North Florida (13-6) vs. No. 4 [5-seed] Georgia (20-4) - 3 p.m. CT

Saturday, May 14
Winner of match 1 vs. Winner of match 2 - 3 p.m. CT