USF's women's tennis team opens play today at the West Coast Conference Championships where the No. 6 seeded Dons will face No. 3 seed Saint Mary's beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif. The conference's six top teams are included in the tournament, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
The Dons finished the regular season with a 6-12 overall record, including a 4-5 mark in the WCC. The Gaels are 8-10-1 overall and went 5-3-1 in WCC play to lock up the third seed in the tournament behind No. 1 Pepperdine and No. 2 Gonzaga. The winner of the USF-Saint Mary's match will advance to meet No. 2 seed Gonzaga at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
The Dons suffered a 4-0 loss to Saint Mary's on March 25 in Moraga. The Gaels won a tightly-contested doubles point when the team of Parminder Kauer and Kareena Manji defeated USF's tandem of
Sofia Holmberg and
Shanna Dos Santos, 6-4 at the No. 3 position. Saint Mary's went on to post straight set singles victories at the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions to close out the match.
USF enters the tournament having won four out of its last six matches, including an impressive, 4-2 victory over Gonzaga on April 2 at the Olympic Club. The Dons also posted their first ever win over San Diego on the Toreros home courts on April 8.
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