University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Selected for Berkeley Regional, Will Face Mississippi State
4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Full NCAA Championship Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Houston Tennis team has received an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship and will face Mississippi State in the First Round on Friday, May 8 at noon CT in Berkeley, Calif. The Cougars and Bulldogs will join No. 3 overall seed Cal and Bryant at the four-team Regional, with First Round winners advancing to play each other on Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. CT.
The Berkeley Regional is one of 16 sites spread throughout the country. The 16 regional winners will advance to the final four rounds of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, to be held May 15-19 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. Baylor will serve as the host institution for the nation's top 16 teams.
Baylor will also host the NCAA Division I Women's Singles and Doubles Championships, which will be held May 20-25 in Waco. Participants will be announced on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT via a press release on NCAA.com.
The Cougars enter the postseason with a 22-5 record, and they are ranked 29th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll. Houston set program records this season with an 18-match winning streak as well as 11 victories over nationally ranked opponents.
Houston is led by the Greek duo of Despoina Vogasari and Elena Kordolaimi. Playing from the top position, Vogasari is ranked 81st in the latest ITA singles poll and carries a 29-8 record. Kordolaimi is 32-6 with a program-record 24 dual wins and currently holds the 106th singles spot, according to the ITA.
Each member of the Houston lineup has a winning record in singles play. From the No. 3 spot, sophomore Tina Rupert is 13-6, with a 6-0 record against American Athletic Conference opponents. Junior Rocio Martin, Houston's primary fourth-court player, is 16-11 overall.
A pair of freshmen played the bottom two courts for Houston at the American Championship. At the No. 5 position, Mina Markovic sports a 14-7 singles mark, while Angela Lorenzo came on late in the season, building an 18-3 record on the strength of an eight-match winning streak.
Rounding out the Houston roster, junior Maria Cardenas is 16-12 this season, and senior Charlotte Phillips is 13-6.
In doubles play, Kordolaimi has garnered a team-high 16 victories with a variety of partners, while Martin and Rupert each have 13 pairs wins.
The Cougars are 2-3 all-time in three NCAA Tournament appearances. Houston's first bid came in 1997, when it made the Second Round after taking a 5-3 win over TCU in the opening round. The Cougars were knocked out in their next match, a 5-0 loss to Tennessee.
In 1998, the Cougars qualified for the postseason after winning the Conference USA Tournament. They again won their First Round match, 5-2, over Texas A&M, before being eliminated one round later with a 5-0 setback to Arkansas.
Last season, Houston earned its first NCAA bid in 16 years. They were drawn into the College Station Regional and fell in the First Round to Texas, 5-0. Vogasari, Kordolaimi, Rupert and Cardenas played the top four singles courts in last season's postseason match, while Martin took part on court six and Phillips participated in doubles.
 | SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE |
Mississippi State (15-11) is ranked No. 34 in the latest ITA national poll, and like the Cougars, received an at-large bid to the Championship. The Bulldogs advanced to the Second Round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament after upsetting host South Carolina, 4-3, in their opener.
The Bulldogs are making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and their first since 2005. MSU is led by sophomore Jasmine Lee, who has 16 singles wins and carries the ITA's No. 24 singles ranking. Junior Georgiana Patrasc, who has 22 singles wins, is ranked 107th in individual competition and 55th in doubles along with sophomore Martina Frantova.
Houston is 4-1 all-time against Mississippi State and has faced the Bulldogs in each of the past two seasons. MSU won, 4-3, in Starkville, Miss. on Feb. 3, 2013. Phillips and Martin each earned singles wins for Houston in the narrow defeat.
The Cougars got their win back with a 5-2 victory on Feb. 16, 2014 at the John E. Hoff Courts. Vogasari defeated Patrasc, 6-2, 6-1, while Phillips and Martin also notched wins.
| SCOUTING CAL |
Cal (20-3) finished 9-1 in Pac-12 Conference play and earned an at-large bid to the Championship. The Golden Bears feature six ranked singles players: No. 3 Maegan Manasse, No. 25 Klara Fabikova, No. 41 Zsofi Susanyi, No. 42 Denise Starr, No. 49 Lynn Chi and No. 92 Karla Popovic. Fabikova advanced to the finals of the Pac-12 singles tournament last week.
Houston has never before faced Cal in team competition, though Vogasari faced off with Manasse twice in fall play. The Cal player was victorious on Sept. 28, 2014 at the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championship, 6-2, 6-2, and she earned a narrow win on Nov. 7, 2014 in the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship, 6-4, 6-4.
The Golden Bears have advanced to the Round of 16 in eight straight NCAA Championships, finishing as high as second in 2008 and 2009.
| SCOUTING BRYANT |
The Bulldogs (9-7) clinched their first Northeast Conference Championship on April 19 with a 4-0 sweep of LIU Brooklyn. Bryant is making its first NCAA Championship appearance.
The NEC champions are led by freshman Ashanti Campfield, who enters the postseason with a 12-4 record. Sophomore Ryan Brown has 11 singles wins.
Houston and Bryant have never met on the tennis court.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
The American Athletic Conference will release their All-Conference teams on Thursday afternoon. Vogasari was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2014 and joined both Kordolaimi and Rupert on the All-Conference first team.
| JOIN THE CENTER COURT CLUB |
The Cougars are proud to introduce the Center Court Club, a restricted-giving program that directly impacts the needs of the University of Houston Tennis program. Gifts to the Center Court Club provide financial support directly to the University of Houston Tennis program for needs beyond the program's operating budget. Revenue generated from the Center Court Club is used at the discretion of the Head Coach for program enhancements. Membership in the Center Court Club is annual and requires a minimum $100 gift.
LEVELS OF GIVING
WINNER
For a minimum gift of $100, supporters receive a team poster and a signed tennis ball.
ACE
For a minimum gift of $500, supporters receive a team poster and a signed tennis ball, private practice invitation and a stadium blanket.
US OPEN
For a minimum gift of $1,000, supporters receive a team poster and a signed tennis ball, private practice invitation, a stadium blanket, fleece jacket and a lesson from the coach.
GRAND SLAM
For a minimum gift of $2,500, supporters receive a team poster and a signed tennis ball, private practice invitation, a stadium blanket, fleece jacket, a lesson from the coach and a group lesson from the coaching staff.
Join the Center Court Club
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--UHCougars.com--
Players Mentioned
