Women's tennis returning to regionals for fifth straight year

ORANGE, Calif. –  Don't let the 8-10 record fool you…the Chapman University women's tennis team is nationally-ranked, battle-tested and primed for a run at the West Region crown. For the fifth straight season, the Panthers have earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships. Chapman, ranked No. 15 in the nation, will face Grinnell College (Iowa) on Thursday in the first round at 1:30 p.m.

Chapman (8-10) is the No. 3 seed in the bracket and Grinnell is No. 6 in the six-team regional tournament hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, Calif. Pomona-Pitzer earned the top seed in the region followed by No. 2 Claremont. Texas-Tyler and Linfield College (Ore.) round out the bracket.

The Panthers return their entire starting lineup from a year ago, when they placed second at the West Region championships with a loss to Pomona-Pitzer in the finals.

This spring, Chapman faced one of the toughest schedules in the country: 11 nationally-ranked Division III opponents, plus a pair of Division I schools. That included a trip to Minnesota to compete in the ITA Division III Indoor Championships in March. The Panthers were 4-7 against ranked competition.

Chapman is led by senior three-time All-American Liz Lewis, ranked No. 3 in the West Region and the Panthers' all-time career leader in singles victories. Lewis has an overall record of 13-6 as Chapman's top seed. Fellow senior All-American Kelley Fox is currently ranked No. 10 in the West Region with an 11-12 mark. Sophomore Genna Ford leads the Panthers with a 16-5 record in singles play.

Lewis and Fox are also ranked No. 5 in the West Region in doubles with an overall record of 13-10. They have been named All-America in doubles each of the past two years.

Grinnell enters the postseason ranked No. 15 in the Central Region, but is not ranked in the Division III top-30. The Pioneers earned an automatic berth into the tournament by winning the Midwest Conference title.

The winner of Chapman-Grinnell will face Claremont in the second round on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Tournament Bracket: http://www.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/files/2011d3wtennis.pdf