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Junior Rosalia Alda was named to the All-SEC Second Team
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May 13, 2010
By Donnie Conley, Media Relations Student Assistant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 14-ranked University of Tennessee women's tennis team will return from a three-week layoff to face Winthrop in an NCAA Tournament First Round matchup at 1 p.m. Friday at the Barksdale Varsity Tennis Courts.
Play opens on Friday with a first round contest between Indiana and Vanderbilt, which takes place at 10 a.m. The two first-round winners will face off at 3 p.m. Saturday for the right to advance to the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., May 20-25.
UT will be hoping for a boost from Natalie Pluskota's return to No. 1 doubles. Pluskota, who had been out since Feb. 14 with an injury, played from the No. 3 doubles spot at the SEC Tournament, where she went 1-1. This weekend, she will be paired with senior Caitlin Whoriskey. Together, they are the No. 1-ranked doubles squad in the Campbell/ITA poll.
"It'll definitely be a lot better than playing with just two teams," Co-head coach Mike Patrick said. "It definitely makes us a lot more formidable and makes us a lot more confident going into the match."
The Lady Vols also boast four All-SEC selections, led by Whoriskey's second straight First Team recognition. Fellow senior Zsófia Zubor and juniors Maria Sorbello and Rosalía Alda each netted Second Team honors after recording career highs in singles victories.
Tennessee will be facing a Winthrop team that won the Big South Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year. The Eagles currently rank No. 66 in the ITA poll.
Patrick knows that Winthrop will provide a tough test for his squad.
"We have one common opponent (with Winthrop) and they beat that team worse than we did so we know they're a good team," Patrick said. "We're going to play the best that we can and just try to do what we normally do. We expect to compete hard."
General admission tickets will be $5, while student tickets will be $3 with ID. Children two-and-under will be admitted free of charge. Tickets may be purchased the day of the match at the gate and no advance tickets will be sold. Tickets will be sold as single day admissions and pass outs will be allowed. Gates will open one hour prior to the beginning of the first match.
Tennessee is making its 16th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is hosting the opening rounds for the seventh time in school history. UT has an overall record of 25-19 in the competition, including a 13-4 tally in first-round contests. UT bested ETSU, 4-0, in the opening round in Knoxville last season.
A live blog and live scoring for the match will be available on UTLadyVols.com. Fans are reminded to follow the Lady Vols on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UTLadyVols
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