No. 24-ranked women reach playoffs for third straight year

ORANGE, Calif. -  The Chapman University women's tennis team has been selected to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships tournament for the third consecutive year. The Panthers, ranked No. 24 in the nation, have earned a first round bye, but will be underdogs against No. 8 University of Redlands. The second round match will be played on Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Start time has not yet been determined.

Chapman (10-6) won eight of its final 10 dual matches this season, including five in a row at one point. The Panthers are led by the No. 22-ranked singles player in Division III, Liz Lewis and her 22-4 overall record. Lewis and doubles partner Kelley Fox are 21-5 in doubles and ranked No. 3 in the West Region. The sophomore pair is also ranked No. 23 in Division III and reached the semifinals at the Ojai Tournament last month.

Fox (12-8) and junior Manon Pochet (11-4) also earned double-digit victories in singles play this season.

The Panthers are 0-3 in their first three appearances in the NCAA tournament (2001, 2007-08), including a first round loss to Texas-Tyler last May. Redlands got the better of Chapman during the regular season, handing the Panthers an 8-1 defeat in Redlands in March. Lewis earned the lone victory for Chapman.

NCAA Division III Championship Bracket online here:
http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/w-tennis/auto_pdf/WTen-D3-2009Bracket