April 28, 2009
2009 NCAA Women’s Tennis Bracket 
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The fifth-ranked Irish women’s tennis team (24-4) was tabbed the No. 5 overall seed and will host the first and second rounds in the 2009 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship, the league announced Tuesday.
Play begins Friday, May 8, at the Courtney Tennis Center, with Michigan taking on Sacramento State at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Irish and UIC at 1:00 p.m. The winners will meet in the second round on Saturday, May 9 at 1:00 p.m.
UIC (15-7) will make its 10th consecutive NCAA appearance after winning its 13th straight Horizon League crown. Michigan (17-6) was the Big Ten runner-up this season and will compete in the NCAA Championship for the eighth time in as many years. Sacramento State (19-8) earned the Big Sky’s automatic berth after clinching their eighth straight league title.
The Irish earned the BIG EAST Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, after claiming their second straight conference crown. Notre Dame will make its 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Irish have made 16 NCAA appearances since their first trip in 1993, reaching the round of 16 on seven occasions and the 1996, 2006 and 2007 quarterfinals. Notre Dame reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The Courtney Tennis Center will play host to NCAA women’s tournament action for the third time in four years, after being the national site in 1998 and an early-round venue in 1997, ’99, 2000, ’01, ’06 and ’07. Notre Dame holds a 10-2 home record in NCAA play, including an 8-0 mark since 2000.
Notre Dame is 8-0 all-time against the Flames. The two teams last met in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Championship with the Irish taking a 4-0 win. Notre Dame holds a 20-9 advantage over Michigan, including a 4-3 win over the Wolverines this season at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish have never faced Sacramento State.
The NCAA Championship features a field of 64 teams, consisting of 31 automatic-qualifying conference champions and 33 at-large selections. The first and second rounds will take place May 8-10 at 16 campus sites.
The later rounds of the NCAA Championships will be held in College Station, Texas May 15-26.
The draws for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be announced Wednesday on www.ncaa.com.
For ticket information, visit www.und.com or call 574-631-7356.
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