April 29, 2008

• 2008 ACC Women's Tennis Championship Photos (Available for Purchase)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Eight Atlantic Coast Conference teams were selected to compete in the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, as announced by the NCAA on Tuesday afternoon. It marked the ninth year in a row and the 10th time in the last 11 years the league has had at least five representatives in the national postseason tournament.

The pressure will be on Georgia Tech to defend its national team title. The Yellow Jackets, who became the first ACC school to win a national title in women's tennis a year ago, collected the No. 3 overall seed in this year's tournament despite being ousted in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament by eventual champion Clemson.

Georgia Tech hosts three schools in the NCAA first and second rounds, partaking in a battle with Alcorn State while Tennessee and Illinois square off against each other

Other ACC teams getting an at-large bid to the NCAA this year include Duke, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State and Wake Forest.

Duke, which was tabbed as the ninth seed and returns to the NCAA for the 10th consecutive year, will play Temple in the opening round in Raleigh, N.C. The winner will then advance to the second round to face either host NC State or 24th-ranked William & Mary.

Clemson, which topped No. 2 seed Duke 4-3 in the ACC Tournament to capture its first league crown since 2004 and the conference's automatic NCAA bid, returns to the national postseason event for the seventh consecutive year. The Tigers, who received the 13th overall seed in the NCAA, plays Winthrop in the first round. A win for Clemson will advance the Tigers to the second round against the winner of the Michigan/Furman match.

Since joining the ACC in 2005, Miami has been to the NCAA every year. The Hurricanes picked up the 13th seed and will host three other teams, facing Quinnipiac in the opening round. No. 22 Notre Dame and 45th-ranked FIU will play in the other first-round match.

In other NCAA opening-round action, 14th seed Florida State entertains Samford, South Florida and Texas with the Seminoles taking on Samford in the first round. The winner plays either 19th-ranked Texas or 43rd-ranked USF in the second round to advance to the Round of 16.

North Carolina, seeded 15th in the NCAA Tournament and making its 10th straight NCAA trip, also takes on hosting duties. The Tar Heels meet South Carolina State in the first round, while ACC foe Wake Forest battles 17th-ranked Arkansas in the other first-round match.

First- and second-round competition will be conducted May 9-11 with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., hosted by the University of Tulsa. The team championship will be held May 15-26.

-ACC-