Women’s Tennis Heads to the NCAA Tournament “Sweet 16” For the First Time

Will Face the U. of Indianapolis in its Opening Match

Women's Tennis | 5/15/2019 12:00:00 AM

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Goldey-Beacom's incredible 2018-19 women's tennis season will take the team to Altamonte Springs, FL and the NCAA Tournament's "Sweet 16" for the first time in team history.

The Lightning in the third round will face second-seeded U. of Indianapolis at noon next Wednesday as part of the women's bracket's first day. The winner advances to the quarterfinals Thursday to face either MSU Texas or Northwest Missouri State.

The semifinals are Friday and the national championship match is Saturday.

Goldey-Beacom moved to the national scene for the first time after becoming the first team in school history to win two NCAA Tournament matches in the same season. It opened the tournament Monday with a 4-0 triumph over Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference-foe Concordia (NY) before a 4-0 second-round victory Tuesday at Stonehill.

This brings the squad's total of NCAA Tournament wins to four, the most of any team in school history, and marks the first such shutouts in program history. The "Sweet 16" also marks the furthest a team has gone in the NCAA Tournament in any sport in school history.

Goldey-Beacom (16-4, 7-1 CACC) once again this season made its presence felt, capturing at least a share of the CACC regular-season crown for a third straight year. The Lightning also have won 24 of their last 25 regular-season league matches and have made the conference semifinals in the last 11 CACC Tournaments.

A major reason for Goldey-Beacom's success this season occurred April 2 when the squad recorded a huge 5-2 upset of New York Tech, then No. 35 in the nation and tops in the region. GBC also topped Wilmington (ranked fifth in the East) and the District of Columbia (ranked seventh in the East) in the regular season.

GBC is 8-2 in the spring with just one loss coming to Division II opposition.

Sophomores Lotte Lesscher y Post (Arnhem, Netherlands) and Catarina Zheng (Oporto, Portugal) have played a huge role in Goldey-Beacom's success the last two seasons. Presently, they are the 13th-ranked doubles tandem in the country after being ranked as high as sixth and are 21-4 on the season. The two advanced to the ITA East Region doubles final and, against New York Tech this month, notched a 6-3 upset over the 30th-ranked tandem in the nation.

Their 37 career doubles victories are tied for the sixth-best total in school history and their 21 this season are the most by one tandem in program annals.

Lesscher y Post made incredible noise during the fall in being picked the CACC Player of the Year, one year after she was tabbed second team and the conference tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She is 15-5 in singles this season that includes 14-4 in dual play at first singles.

Zheng also has been a dynamo, getting picked first team all-league for a second straight year after making the 2017 CACC All-Tournament Team. She has amassed an 18-4 singles mark, which includes 15-3 at second singles.

Andrea Fresneda (Valencia, Spain) owns a 15-4 record in singles, including 11-3 at sixth singles. Fellow freshman Kristin Radeke (Bremen, Germany) has the third-most doubles triumphs for the squad, owning an 11-4 that includes 10-3 at third doubles.

Goldey-Beacom had two NCAA Tournament victories in its history prior to this season. The first came in 2015, when the program defeated Chestnut Hill in becoming the first in school history to win a head-to-head NCAA Tournament event. That squad finished the season ranked 31st in the country.

The U. of Indianapolis Greyhounds (22-0) won the Great Lakes Valley Conference and notched a 4-0 triumph over 26th-ranked Drury in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

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