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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Tennis Bound for Miami for NCAA Tournament; Selection Show Video Included
April 28, 2009 | Women's Tennis
PRINCETON -- The Princeton women's tennis team will meet Florida International in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a match hosted by the University of Miami, the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
The match will take place Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m. If Princeton (18-7) advances to the second round, it would face the winner of host Miami and Patriot League champion Army at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9. Miami is the No. 6 ranked team in the country and drew the sixth of 16 seeded positions in the tournament.
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.
Florida International (18-5) rolled through Sun Belt Conference play and will take a 13-match winning streak into the NCAA tournament. FIU is ranked No. 29 in this week's ITA poll while Princeton is No. 42. Princeton has played 11 ranked teams this season (top 75) and has four wins, with then No. 31 William & Mary as the highest ranked team Princeton has defeated this season.
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.
See video of the Princeton women's tennis team during the selection show: