QU Women's Tennis Faces No. 2 Seed North Carolina Tar Heels in First Round of NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 12 P.M.
5/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (14-8, 8-0 MAAC) at
No. 2 University of North Carolina Tar Heels (27-1, 14-0 ACC)
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Saturday, May 9, 2015 - 12 P.M.
- NCAA Tournament Guide
- NCAA Tournament Bracket
- NCAA Women's Tennis Homepage
- QU Women's Tennis Postseason Guide
- QU Women's Tennis Homepage
- QU Women's Tennis Schedule
- Twitter: @QUAthletics | @QUWTennis
Playoffs
The Quinnipiac women's tennis team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history as they will face the No. 2 seed North Carolina Tar Heels on May 9, 2015 at 12 P.M. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina is coming off its first and only loss of the season as the Tar Heels fell to the Virginia Cavaliers, 4-1, in the ACC Semifinals on Saturday, Apr. 26. The Tar Heels are now 27-1 this seasons after going a perfect 26-0 (14-0 ACC) in the regular season. All three of the Tar Heels doubles pairs are ranked in the top 75 in the country, with Jamie Loeb and Caroline Price ranked at No. 16 in the country while Whitney Kay and Hayley Carter are No. 34 and Ashley Dai and Katie Vialle are ranked No. 74. Loeb and Price are tied for the most wins in doubles on the team with a 22-3 record, including 13-2 in No. 1 doubles. Kay and Carter have also gone 21-2 and are 12-0 at No. 3 doubles while Dai and Vialle are 22-11 overall. Four of the Tar Heels singles players are ranked in the top 125, led by Loeb as the No. 7 with a 23-4 overall record and 18-2 mark at No. 1 singles. Carter is ranked No. 16 in the country with a 29-8 record and 15-3 at No. 2 singles. Price has a team-high 36 wins with a 36-6 record with 21-3 record at No. 3 singles. Kay is the final ranked Tar Heel at No. 102 as she accumulated a 20-8 record with a 14-7 record at No. 4 singles. Vialle and Dai have rotated between No. 5 and No. 6 in singles, with Vialle going 20-10 while Daiis 18-8.
Last Time Out for the Bobcats
The Bobcats won their second straight MAAC Championship title by sweeping the Niagara Purple Eagles, 4-0, on Saturday, Apr. 26. Sydney Young (Austin, Texas) won the clinching match for the Bobcats in the championship to send them back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Jacqueline Raynor (Garden City, New York) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Two Perfect Seasons
For the second consecutive season, the Bobcats were a perfect 10-0 against MAAC opponents, including the playoffs. Since joining the league, the Bobcats have yet to lose a match with a conference opponent.
We're Goin' Dancin'
The Bobcats are also headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and third time in the last five years. Last year, the Bobcats fell 4-0 to the Stanford Cardinal in their first round matchup in Palo Alto, Calif.
Quinnipiac in the NCAA Tournament
The women's tennis team is 0-7 all time in the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era at Quinnipiac. This academic year, the women's tennis team is the fourth Quinnipiac team to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The women's tennis team joins the women's basketball and men's and women's ice hockey teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
MAAC Honors
The Bobcats collected numerous honors from the MAAC at the tennis tournament, capped off by Raynor taking home the MAAC Women's Tennis Tournament Most Outstanding Player after going 3-0 in the MAAC Tournament with a pair of doubles victories. Raynor was also named to the All-MAAC First Team for No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Head coach Paula Miller was named the MAAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in her first season as the head coach, having guided the team to a 14-8 record. Also named to the All-MAAC First Team was Rachel Horton (Stamford, Connecticut) for No. 5 singles and doubles, Michelle Dassa (Marlboro, New Jersey) for No. 1 doubles, Young for No. 2 doubles and Sophia Dzulynsky (Miramar, Florida) and Sitilia Rencheli (Sarasota, Florida) for No. 3 doubles. The Bobcats also placed four on the All-MAAC Second Team with Dzulynsky making it for No. 1 singles, Rencheli at No. 3 singles, Young at No. 4 singles and Launie at No. singles.
Perfect Month
Raynor was a perfect 18-0 in the month of April, going 9-0 in singles and 9-0 in doubles. During the month, Raynor was also 12-0 in conference matches, with a 6-0 mark in singles in each singles and doubles. Adding to the accomplishments, Raynor set the program record for wins in a career and wins in a single-season on Apr. 18 against the Monmouth Hawks. She is now the all-time leader with 169 career wins and 48 wins this season.
The Clinch
Young picked up the clinching point for the Bobcats against the Niagara Purple Eagles in the MAAC Championship match to send them to the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament. In the match, she defeated the Purple Eagles' Stella Peisakhova, 6-1, 6-4, to move on to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach of the Year
Paula Miller was named the 2015 MAAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in her first season at the helm of the Quinnipiac women's tennis team. Miller marks the second straight season in which a Bobcats' head coach was named the league's coach of the year, as former head coach Mike Quitko took home the award the year before in Quinnipiac's first season in the league.
Young Money
Young has continued to be a threat in the middle of the lineup for the Bobcats as she picked up her 80th career victory with the clinching match. This season, she is 39-20 for the Bobcats with the second best record on the team behind Raynor. Overall, Young has a .667 winning percentage with an 80-40 record.
Another Great Weekend
Dzulynsky tied Raynor and Dassa for the most individual victories at the MAAC Tournament with three during the weekend, and raised her career wins total to 75 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Dzulynsky won a pair of doubles matches with her partner Rencheli and also won a crucial singles match in the championship to put the Bobcats up 3-0 on Niagara.
What's Next?
The winner of the match between the Bobcats and the Tar Heels will face the winner of the match between Dartmouth and William & Mary in the Regional final on Sunday, May 10 at 1 P.M.
Players Mentioned
