Women's Tennis Begins National Tournament Run

LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern women's tennis will head to the NAIA National Tournament for the second year in a row beginning on Wednesday.
 
The No. 6 ranked Fire earned an at-large bid into the national tournament after concluding the season with a 12-7 overall record. The Fire will receive a bye into the NAIA Second Round on Wednesday at 9 a.m. where they will take on the winner of No. 11 University of the Cumberlands and No. 22 Midland University.
 
Southeastern took wins over seven different teams in the NAIA Top 25 poll, most significantly, a 4-3 win over No. 8 ranked SCAD-Savannah in the final match of the regular season.
 
Last season, the Fire advanced to the NAIA National Tournament where they defeated Midland by a score of 4-0 before concluding the season with a 4-0 loss over then-ranked No. 3, LSU-Alexandria.
 
The University of the Cumberlands earned an at-large bid with a 20-2 overall record and will be making their sixth national tournament appearance. The Patriots' only two losses of the season came against Division I Austin Peay and No. 13 Lindsey Wilson in the tournament championship match by a score of 4-2.
 
No. 22 ranked Midland (18-3) earned a spot in their third national tournament after securing a Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The Warriors are 0-2 in the tournament over their first two appearances including last year's 4-0 loss to the Fire.
 
With a win on Wednesday, the Fire will face either No. 3 Xavier (21-6), No. 14 Union (16-1), or No. 19 Westcliff (13-3) on Thursday at 9 a.m.
 
Xavier and Union are both familiar with the national tournament, combining for 23 appearances while Westcliff enters their first national tournament in program history.