May 9, 2003

CHAPEL HILL - The first round of the 2003 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships will be held this weekend, May 10-11 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.

In the first match of the day on Saturday, May 10, 19th-ranked Clemson University will take on 36th-ranked Baylor University at 10 a.m. Then, the 11th-ranked University of North Carolina(17-8) will face the College of Charleston at 2 p.m. Gates will open at 9 a.m.

The two winners will meet in second round action on Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. Gates will open at noon. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

One qualifying team from each of the 16 host sites will compete in Gainesville, Fla. for the NCAA title.

This is Carolina's fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and second under head coach Jen Callen. Last year, the Tar Heels had their best NCAA finish ever, and advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by eventual champion Stanford. The Tar Heels are 17-8 overall and 6-2 in the ACC. In two seasons, North Carolina head coach Jen Callen has guided the Tar Heels to 42 overall wins and back-to-back 7-1 and 6-2 finishes in the ACC. That is the best two-year run in school history since the 1986 (5-2) and 1987 (7-0) seasons. Carolina's only two conference losses this season came at the hands of fifth-ranked Duke in the conference opener and to 17th-ranked Clemson in its final regular season conference match. Duke defeated the Tar Heels 6-1, while the Tigers edged out Carolina 4-3. Kate Pinchbeck, Carolina's No. 1 singles player did not compete in singles against Clemson due to sickness. Carolina finished second at the ACC Championships, April 17-20. The Tar Heels defeated Florida State 4-0 in first round action, and then avenged their regular season loss against Clemson by sweeping the Tigers 4-0 in the semifinals to advance to the final match. The win allowed Carolina to advance to the championship match, where the Tar Heels tried to defend their 2002 ACC title, but fell to top-seed Duke 4-2.

The Tar Heels in First Round Action

The Tar Heels will take on the College of Charleston in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. Charleston finished the regular season 8-1 in the Southern Conference and 22-3 overall. The Cougars enter the match coming off their first ever Southern Conference Tournament Championship. Charleston received a bye in the first round of the tournament and then shut out UNC Greensboro 4-0 in second round action. In the semifinals, the Cougars defeated Georgia Southern 4-1, and then advanced to the final where they encountered little trouble from Davidson and enjoyed a 4-1 victory. Charleston is lead by its number one singles player sophomore Rachel Magory, from London, England, who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Should Carolina defeat Charleston, the Tar Heels will advance to the second round of competition and take on the winner of 19th-ranked Clemson and 36th-ranked Baylor on Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. Clemson and Baylor meet in first round action Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. All three matches will take place at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.

Carolina in the NCAA Championships

This is Carolina's fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and second under head coach Jen Callen. Last year, the Tar Heels enjoyed their best NCAA finish ever when they advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by eventual champion Stanford. In Carolina's other three NCAA Tournament appearances (2001, 2000, 1999), the Tar Heels lost in the first round.

Four Tar Heels to Compete in Singles and Doubles Championships

Kate Pinchbeck, Marlene Mejia and Aniela Mojzis will compete in the NCAA singles tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Mojzis and teammate Kendall Cline will compete in the doubles tournament. Pinchbeck, ranked 13th in the country, advanced to the quarterfinals of the singles tournament last year. The 64-player singles championship begins on Monday, May 19 and runs through May 24, with one round played each day at the Ring Tennis Complex at the University of Florida, while the NCAA Doubles Championship gets underway on Tuesday, May 20.

Five Tar Heels make All-ACC Team

Five Carolina players earned a spot on the All-ACC team as voted on by the conference's nine head coaches. It is the first time in school history that Carolina has had five players earn all-conference honors in the same season. Kate Pinchbeck, Marlene Mejia, Aniela Mojzis, Kendall Cline and Tanja Markovic filled five of the 18 spots on the squad, leaving Carolina with the most players honored in 2003.