CLAREMONT, Calif. Copying their path from the year before, Whitman will look to change their fortune this time around as the Blues will again head to Claremont where they begin their journey towards an NCAA championship.
The 27th ranked Blues overcame the Northwest Conference No. 1 seed Linfield Wildcats at the NWC tournament in the middle of April, and up until Monday, had been biding their time waiting to find out where they would be traveling.
The NCAA officially announced the Division III Women's Tennis championship field where it will send Whitman (11-8) back to the Bisantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California for the second straight year. In 2017, the Blues played in Claremont where they were taken down in Regional Round 1 against East Texas Baptist University.
Fast Forward one year, and Whitman finds itself in a similar situation. This time around, the Blues will look to reverse history and take down another team from Texas in NCAA Regional Round 1 as they play University of Texas at Tyler.
"I think it is impossible to say that we don't gain an advantage by getting the opportunity to play again at Claremont" said head coach John Hein. "We are comfortable down there, we play down there on a regular basis, and with experience at such a quality facility, we are looking forward to getting back out there and playing on Thursday."
The Patriots, out of the American Southwest Conference, enter the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships ranked 37th in the country with a record of 16-7, having swept through the ASC tournament to earn the conference's automatic qualifier bid. After sweeping Concordia and Hardin Simmons 5-0, UT Tyler had to edge out UT Dallas 5-4 in order to qualify for the ninth time in school history for the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships.
"UT Tyler is a very good team, probably ranked lower than they should be" said Hein. "We have not played them since their new coach (Head Coach Adam Cohen) arrived on campus, but traditionally they have been very tough. We have had long, gritty matches with them, and I look forward to seeing them again."
Whitman will have to rely on the fact that experience should be on their side. While the Patriots will make a return to NCAA Women's Tennis Regional play after missing out on the field last year, the Blues will rely on their experience as five of the six members of the roster that played in singles matches in last year's regionals are back again this year. Lori Sheng won her matchup at last years regionals, while Andrea Gu, Mary Hill, Hanna Greenberg, and Jenna Gilbert all lost in very competitive contests. Gu and Greenberg lost in three sets while Hill went into tiebreaker in a first set that could have swung the momentum of the match.
The Blues will also look to complement their experience in last year's regionals with the momentum they are carrying into this year's championships. Whitman has won six straight matches, including an upset of the Northwest Conference No. 1 overall seed Linfield on their home courts.
"My goal for this team from the beginning has been to make sure that we are getting better every time out. That has been the case all year long, and we are playing arguably our best tennis of the year right now" Hein said. "Our doubles especially, I think we are playing really good doubles tennis right now and those three matches can make and break you in a dual match format."
The winner of Thursday's match will advance to Friday's second round and take on the host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday, with match time set for 10 a.m. The women's regional final match, which will take place Saturday morning at 10 a.m., will be the winner of the CMS match and the winner between the other two teams in the regional final; Pomona-Pitzer vs. Trinity (TX).
