Tennis: Both Swarthmore Teams Into NCAA Playoffs
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Swarthmore College earned the distinct honor of having both its men's and women's tennis teams selected to play in the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championships this coming weekend.
The Garnet men's team (6-10 overall, 6-4 in Division III ), ranked 20th in the nation and fourth in the Atlantic South region, earned its 30th NCAA bid in the last 31 years. In the first round, Swarthmore will play Washington College (Md.), ranked 14th in the country and third in the region, on Saturday, May 6 on the campus of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. Swarthmore ousted Washington in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tennis Championship by a score of 4-3, yet the Shoremen (19-3) defeated the visiting Garnet 4-3 on April 14, 2006. The other side of the bracket matches top-seed Mary Washington (20-3) against Johns Hopkins (11-8); Swarthmore fell to Mary Washington, ranked seventh in the nation, 6-1 on April 2 and defeated Johns Hopkins 5-2 on March 17.
The Swarthmore women (16-2 overall, 10-0 Centennial) are currently ranked 18th in Division III and fifth in the Atlantic South region, and enter the NCAA Tournament coming off their second consecutive Centennial Conference championship. Swarthmore is the second seed in the Atlantic South region and will face third-seed Carnegie Mellon in the first round on Saturday, May 6 in Lexington, Va. Should the Garnet advance past the Tartans, they will face the winner of the match between host Washington & Lee and Mary Washington. In 2005, Swarthmore fell to eventual national runner-up Washington & Lee 9-0 in the first round.
Swarthmore men's tennis has reached the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament on ten occasions and won four national championships (1977, '81, '85, '90).
Women's Atlantic South Bracket