Women Netters to Play Pepperdine in NCAAs
May 6, 1999 | Women's Tennis
The women's tennis received its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday (May 5th), and the invitation has the Terriers heading west to Southern California to play ninth-ranked Pepperdine. B.U., which is ranked 75th in the country in the most recent poll, will take on Pepperdine on Saturday, May 15th. Joining these two teams in the bracket are Ohio State and Louisiana State University. The two winners on Saturday will meet on Sunday with the winner moving on to the next round.
"I am really excited," said Terrier head coach Lesley Sheehan. "There is no question it will be a very difficult match for us. But, this is the kind of competition we wanted to have if we were going to the NCAAs.
"We have never played a top-10 ranked team in the history of tennis at B.U.," continued the coach. "This will give us the opportunity to see if we can hold our own against some of the best college competition in the country."
Now in her 14th year as the Terriers' head coach, Sheehan was the finest woman's tennis player ever to compete for the Terriers. A 1984 graduate of B.U. and a member of the Terriers' athletic hall of fame, she was B.U.'s first woman tennis player to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
As a junior during the 1983 season, she posted a first-round win in the Nationals but then lost to the eighth-seeded player in the second round.
She returned to the NCAAs as a senior in 1984. There, she was eliminated in the first round.
"I am going to tell the players to enjoy the experience they're going to have," pointed out the coach, who has an overall record of 161-96. "I just want them to give their best efforts.
"I know I won't have a problem getting them pumped up to play," said the coach. "They already are excited."
The Terriers, who at one time were 3-7 during the spring season, won their final seven matches of the year. Included in the streak were three straight 9-0 scores over Hartford, Towson, and Delaware in the America East Tournament. The victories earned them their ninth America East team title.
Unlike the previous eight, though, this year's title earned B.U. the conference's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAAs.
Showing no letdown after the conference victory, the Terriers closed out their regular-season with a 7-2 win over UMass/Amherst and a 5-1 triumph over Harvard.
According to Sheehan, the win over the Crimson might have been the biggest ever for the Terriers.
However, the turning point of the season came on April 18th when B.U. hosted Syracuse, and the Terriers prevailed, 5-1.
"I think that's when people started to notice us," said Sheehan. "Syracuse was a team on the national level, and this showed people we belong there, as well."
The Terriers never lost a match after the Syracuse victory. In fact, no opponent won more than two games in any of the final seven matches.
In fact, UMass had the most success winning two of nine matches. Syracuse, Providence (5-1), and Harvard (5-1) won only one game, while Hartford, Towson, and Delaware (9-0 in each match) were blanked. Thus, in their final 54 matches of the season, B.U. compiled a 49-5 record.
Neither the Terrier travel plans nor their starting time for the Pepperdine match has been set yet.
