CofC Duo Selected to Compete in NCAA Women?s Tennis Individual Championships
5/6/2010 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The pair is one of 32 teams selected to compete at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia following the conclusion of the team championship. The singles and doubles championships will take place May 26-31. Although their opponent is not yet known, Dowse and Hayman will play on May 27 at 10 a.m.
The duo received one of 16 automatic qualifications as the only doubles team from the Southern Conference to be ranked in the top 60 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. To be eligible, a team must have competed in at least 10 matches.
The 37th-ranked pair in the country compiled a 17-5 record as the Cougars' top doubles team, including a perfect 6-0 conference mark. They were named to the SoCon All-Conference First Team and have spent the last eight weeks nationally ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Dowse and Hayman faced opponents from 10 nationally-ranked teams this season, including five who qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The highlight of their season was an 8-5 victory over then No. 19 Hilary Bartlett and Taylor Marable of the 28th-ranked Princeton Tigers on Mar. 16. The pair also played a close match against Stetson's Valentina Galbarini and Carolina de los Santos before falling 9-7.
In addition to becoming the first doubles team in the Southern Conference to qualify for the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships, the twosome is the first team from the city of Charleston, which has three Division I programs, to qualify from the men's or women's side.
Before focusing on the individual championships, Dowse and Hayman must first prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the NCAA Team Championships on May 14. They will face Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic, who received an at-large bid and will be seeded No. 5 - 8, in the No. 1 doubles match.
Players Mentioned
