[Women's Tennis] Women's Tennis Headed to NAIA National Tournament for First Time in School History
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There was no suspense Monday for the SDC women's tennis team as the NAIA released the teams going to the NAIA National Tournament.
The Hawks are among 24 teams selected to compete in the tournament for the first time in school history. SDC earned theirs as they won the GSAC Tournament last week to earn the automatic bid.
The field consists of 14 automatic berths, including one host berth, and nine at-large selections. Automatic qualification is given to conference and unaffiliated grouping tournament champions and runners-up, depending on the conference. For the first year, at-large teams were determined by the NAIA Tennis National Selection Committee (NSC).
The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council (NAC) Rules and Ratings Committee, the president of the Tennis Coaches Association and two at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria. Mobile (Ala.) received the host berth
SDC finished the season with a 15-3 record and are currently ranked a program-best No. 5 in the nation. Teams ranked 1-8 earn a bye into the second round of the tournament.
The Hawks will see their path to the championship match tomorrow as the bracket will be released by the NAIA in the afternoon.
2017 NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship Qualifiers
School | Qualification | 2017 Record | Apearances | Last Time | NC Record | Titles |
Arizona Christian | At-Large | 17-18 | 3 | 2016 | 1-2 | 0 |
Asbury (Kan.) | River States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 12-3 | 2 | 2016 | 0-1 | 0 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) | At-Large | 11-8 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 15-5 | 4 | 2016 | 3-3 | 0 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large | 15-8 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
Davenport (Mich.) | At-Large | 14-10 | 4 | 2016 | 2-3 | 0 |
Georgetown (Ky.) | At-Large | 16-7 | 4 | 2008 | 0-3 | 0 |
Georgia Gwinnett | At-Large | 22-0 | 4 | 2016 | 11-1 | 2 |
Hastings (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 9-7 | 2 | 2000 | 0-1 | 0 |
Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League Tournament Champion | 19-3 | 18 | 2016 | 12-17 | 0 |
Keiser (Fla.) | At-Large | 13-7 | 12 | 2016 | 16-10 | 1 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | At-Large | 7-13 | 16 | 2015 | 11-5 | 0 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference Tournament Champion | 19-4 | 13 | 2016 | 22-12 | 0 |
LSU Alexandria (La.) | Unaffiliated Group - Red River/Sooner/AII Tournament Champion | 17-3 | 3 | 2016 | 1-2 | 0 |
McPherson (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 9-2 | 4 | 2016 | 0-3 | 0 |
Mobile (Ala.) | Host Berth | 22-4 | 12 | 2016 | 2-11 | 0 |
Northwestern Ohio | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 19-5 | 5 | 2016 | 2-4 | 0 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | At-Large | 10-11 | 11 | 2016 | 3-10 | 0 |
San Diego Christian (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 15-3 | 1 | N/A | 0-0 | 0 |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 12-6 | 3 | 2015 | 1-2 | 0 |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | The Sun Conference Tournament Champion | 15-3 | 13 | 2016 | 12-13 | 0 |
William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion | 17-3 | 6 | 2016 | 6-5 | 0 |
William Woods (Mo.) | Unaffiliated Group - AMC/Heart Tournament Champion | 11-9 | 2 | 2016 | 2-1 | 0 |
Xavier (La.) | At-Large | 7-13 | 11 | 2016 | 11-10 | 0 |