RICHMOND, Va. - The two-time defending champion and No. 50-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team received the top seed in the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, the league office announced on Monday. The Green and Gold will be the No. 1 seed for the third-straight season and face the winner of the first-round match-up between No. 8 Drexel and No. 9 Hofstra on Friday, April 21, at 9 a.m. Elon University hosts the 2017 CAA Championship at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, April 20-23.
The Tribe has won 24 of the 32 women's tennis championships in the history of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Green and Gold claimed league crown in three of its four seasons under head coach
Tyler Thomson. Last season, W&M topped James Madison in the championship match by a 4-1 score. The Tribe captured the doubles point, before receiving single wins from returners
Marie Faure (No. 2),
Lauren Goodman (No. 3) and
Maria Groener (No. 6).
W&M closed out the regular season with back-to-back wins over instate foes in Old Dominion, 5-2, on April 8 and VCU, 6-1, on April 15. Winners in four of its last five matches, the Tribe enters the postseason at 11-10 on the year. The Green and Gold has been ranked among the national top 50 each of the last eight weeks, including a season-high No. 37 on March 7. W&M is 3-1 against the CAA this season with victories over Elon (7-0), James Madison (6-1) and Delaware (6-1) to go along with a 4-3 setback on Charleston.
Elon is the tournament's No. 2 seed followed by Charleston, James Madison, Delaware, UNCW, Towson, Drexel and Hofstra. The Dragons and Pride will face off in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday, April 20 with the winner meeting the Tribe at 9 a.m. on Friday. The other 9 a.m. quarterfinal on Friday pits JMU against Delaware. The 1 p.m. quarterfinals will see Elon against Towson and Charleston vs. UNCW.
The CAA Semifinals are set for 10 a.m. on Saturday with both matches being played simultaneously. The CAA Championship match is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 23. The winner of the CAA Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Admission is free to all four days of the championship. For more information, log on the Tennis Championship page on CAASports.com.
2017 CAA Championship
Seeds
#1 William & Mary
#2 Elon
#3 College of Charleston
#4 James Madison
#5 Delaware
#6 UNCW
#7 Towson
#8 Drexel
#9 Hofstra
Schedule
Thursday, April 20 – First Round
Match #1 – 10 a.m. – #8 Drexel vs. #9 Hofstra
Friday, April 21 – Quarterfinals
Match #2 – 9 a.m. – #1 William & Mary vs. Winner of Match #1
Match #3 – 9 a.m. – #4 James Madison vs. #5 Delaware
Match #4 – 1 p.m. – #2 Elon vs. #7 Towson
Match #5 – 1 p.m. – #3 Charleston vs. #6 UNCW
Saturday, April 22 – Semifinals
Match #6 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #2 vs. Winner of Match #3
Match #7 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #4 vs. Winner of Match #5
Sunday, April 23 – Championship
Match #8 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #6 vs. Winner of Match #7
