AUSTIN, TEXAS – The LIU Brooklyn women's tennis team takes part in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship Tournament Saturday, May 4, squaring off against No. 9 overall seed Texas. First serve for the match which will take place at the Texas Tennis Center, is at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Blackbird fans will be able to follow the action live, via
live streaming courtesy of the University of Texas, along with
live stats via the Longhorns' site.
BLACKBIRD BITS
- LIU is coming off its third straight Northeast Conference championship, and making their third straight NCAA appearance.
- Senior Anna Grigoryan made both program and NEC history, it was announced Wednesday, as she became the first student athlete in league history to win three NEC Women's Tennis Player of the Year honors. Her unanimous selection went hand-in-hand with the Blackbirds winning a third straight NEC championship. And LIU's head coach Jan Griga was voted the NEC Coach of the Year by his peers. The Blackbirds were also honored with a league-best four All-NEC singles honors and had two of its three doubles teams recognized as well, as Jessica Brzozowska, Ana Leonte, Malin Leysen and Sasha Bollweg were recognized by the league's coaches.
SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
- Texas enters the tournament as a No. 9 seed nationally, having gone 18-4 overall, and 9-0 in the Big 12. The Longhorns are making their 36th NCAA championship appearance. They've won twice, in 1993 and 1995, and have advanced to the finals as recently as 2005. Last year, Texas advanced out of the first and second rounds, before falling to Texas Tech in the round of 16.
- The Longhorns are led by sister duo Bianca and Anna Turati, both of whom were named first team All-Big 12. Bianca ranks No. 28 in the nation and plays in the No. 1 singles spot, while Anna ranks 38 nationally, and plays at No. 2 singles. As a pair, they also make up the team's top doubles duo, and rank No. 68 in the nation as a pair. Junior Petra Granic is the team's No. 3 player, also earned first team All-Big 12 honors, and ranks No. 54 in the nation.
UP NEXT
The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They will face off against the winner of No. 18 seed Texas A&M and No. 39 seed Rice, Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.