Women's Tennis Takes on Gators in NCAA First Round
5/1/2023 7:17:00 PM | General, Women's Tennis
Ospreys Join UF, Georgia Tech and UCF in Gainesville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida women's tennis (18-6) learned its opponent and location for its first round matchup of the 2023 NCAA Championship as the Ospreys will head to Gainesville to face No. 16-nationally ranked Florida (16-7) in the first round Friday, May 5. Also joining the Ospreys in the Florida regional are UCF (11-11) and Georgia Tech (15-9).
Winners of the first round matches advance to the second round held May 6 at UF. Times of the first and second round matches are to be announced.
UNF earns its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons and 10th in its DI era as the Ospreys won the 2023 ASUN Championship and earned the automatic-bid due to its title run on its home courts two weekends ago. North Florida's last trip to the NCAA Tournament saw the Ospreys upset No. 25 Ole Miss and advance to the program's first-ever second round as a DI program.
North Florida made the trip to Gainesville for the 2018 NCAA Championship First Round, taking on Florida State that season. It's the first time UNF and UF will meet in NCAA postseason play.
UNF and UF are meeting for the fourth time in series history and the second time in Gainesville. UNF and UF squared off in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Florida enters the tournament 16-7 and 9-4 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play. The Gators were bounced by No. 2 Texas A&M in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament April 22.
On the 2023 Ospreys
The Ospreys are 18-6 and 7-1 in league play this past season, riding a 10-match winning streak with the last loss coming March 17. North Florida defeated Central Arkansas, Liberty and defending-ASUN champions, Stetson, en route to the 10th ASUN Tournament Championship in program history.
UNF dominated the ASUN Postseason awards, proving the depth of the team and its ability to win at a number of positions in the singles and doubles lineups. Kit Gulihur was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ASUN Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN and ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year with partner Ana Paula Melilo.
Head coach Catherine Dunagan was tabbed ASUN Coach of the Year, Annabelle Davis was tabbed second team all-conference, Isabel Oliveira made the third team and Jasmin Makela took home all-freshman laurels. Makela capped off the tournament by clinching the title in dramatic fashion with a straight-sets win at the sixth slot.
More on the NCAA Championship Format
First and second-round competition takes place May 5-6 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 12 or 13. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. The super-regional winners advance to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 17-20. This year's event will be conducted jointly with the NCAA Divisions II and III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships and hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
The matches shall be regulation dual matches. Three doubles matches consisting of six-game sets will be played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point; played the best of three sets. No-ad scoring will be used and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) will be played at six-games-all. The team winning four or more team points advances in the championship bracket.
Winners of the first round matches advance to the second round held May 6 at UF. Times of the first and second round matches are to be announced.
UNF earns its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons and 10th in its DI era as the Ospreys won the 2023 ASUN Championship and earned the automatic-bid due to its title run on its home courts two weekends ago. North Florida's last trip to the NCAA Tournament saw the Ospreys upset No. 25 Ole Miss and advance to the program's first-ever second round as a DI program.
North Florida made the trip to Gainesville for the 2018 NCAA Championship First Round, taking on Florida State that season. It's the first time UNF and UF will meet in NCAA postseason play.
UNF and UF are meeting for the fourth time in series history and the second time in Gainesville. UNF and UF squared off in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Florida enters the tournament 16-7 and 9-4 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play. The Gators were bounced by No. 2 Texas A&M in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament April 22.
On the 2023 Ospreys
The Ospreys are 18-6 and 7-1 in league play this past season, riding a 10-match winning streak with the last loss coming March 17. North Florida defeated Central Arkansas, Liberty and defending-ASUN champions, Stetson, en route to the 10th ASUN Tournament Championship in program history.
UNF dominated the ASUN Postseason awards, proving the depth of the team and its ability to win at a number of positions in the singles and doubles lineups. Kit Gulihur was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ASUN Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN and ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year with partner Ana Paula Melilo.
Head coach Catherine Dunagan was tabbed ASUN Coach of the Year, Annabelle Davis was tabbed second team all-conference, Isabel Oliveira made the third team and Jasmin Makela took home all-freshman laurels. Makela capped off the tournament by clinching the title in dramatic fashion with a straight-sets win at the sixth slot.
More on the NCAA Championship Format
First and second-round competition takes place May 5-6 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 12 or 13. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. The super-regional winners advance to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 17-20. This year's event will be conducted jointly with the NCAA Divisions II and III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships and hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
The matches shall be regulation dual matches. Three doubles matches consisting of six-game sets will be played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point; played the best of three sets. No-ad scoring will be used and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) will be played at six-games-all. The team winning four or more team points advances in the championship bracket.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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