The Youngstown State women's tennis will face ninth-seeded Florida in the opening round of NCAA Women's Tennis Championships in the Gainesville Regional on Friday, May 11. The Penguins will be making their first trip to Florida's Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in school history. The Gators won the National Championship in 2017.
The Penguins (16-10) advanced to their fifth straight NCAA Regional by winning a pair of matches at the Horizon League Championships this past weekend. The Gators enter the tournament with an 18-8 record after going 11-2 in SEC play during the year. Florida reached the finals of the SEC Tournament Championships where it lost to Vanderbilt on April 22.
YSU will face the Gators at 5 p.m. following the opening match which features North Florida (17-7) vs. Florida State (18-8). The contest between the Ospreys and the Seminoles will begin at 2 p.m.
This is the fifth consecutive year the Penguins have advanced to the NCAA Regional while the Gators have been to 31 straight NCAA Tournaments. Last year, UF beat UMass, Miami (Fla.), Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Stanford en route to its seventh national title.
YSU has played Virginia, USC, Michigan and Ohio State in its previous four NCAA Tournament trips. Last year the Penguins played at Michigan.
The winners of Friday's matches will play at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.