Princeton Women’s Tennis Faces FIU in NCAA 1st Rd.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Courtesy of Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON -- The Princeton women's tennis team will meet Florida International in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships on Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m. in Coral Gables, Fla., on the campus of the University of Miami.

It will be Princeton's second meeting with Florida International, with the first coming Jan. 28, 2007. FIU won 4-3, but Princeton's lineup will look much different for the rematch, as only Melissa Saiontz and Blakely Ashley are among the current Tiger starters who were also in Princeton's singles six that day. Both Saiontz and Ashley won their matches.

Princeton (18-7) drew the third seed of four at the site. Miami, the sixth seed of 16 seeded teems nationally, will meet Patriot League champion Army in the first round. Florida International (18-5) rolled through Sun Belt Conference play and will take a 13-match winning streak into the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers have won their last five matches and claimed the automatic NCAA berth with a 6-1 Ivy record and a head-to-head win over Ivy co-champion Harvard.

Princeton and FIU have just two common opponents, and both with the same result. Each team swept Middle Tennessee State 7-0, while FIU beat Harvard 6-1 and Princeton topped the Crimson 5-2.

The Tigers have two Floridians on their roster, with sisters Melissa and Rachel Saiontz coming from Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, Fla.

It is Princeton's third NCAA tournament in its history, following its eighth Ivy League title. Princeton last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2000, losing to Tennessee in a William & Mary hosted match. The other appearance was in 1983 in a 16-team, single-site tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., where the Tigers lost to Stanford.

Princeton will be looking to win the Ivy's first postseason match since 2006, when Penn advanced to the second round.