March 6, 2008

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's tennis team opens its spring season Saturday following an impressive 11-6 fall. The Lakers are ranked No. 8 in the Great Lakes Region poll and the top eight teams in the region will receive a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Mercyhurst opens the spring Saturday by hosting NCAA Division I Niagara at Pennbriar Athletic Club beginning at 1 p.m. The Lakers follow by hosting Ferris State and Clarion before road matches against Carnegie Mellon and Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst will complete its spring with a home match against Tiffin.

The Lakers opened their fall season by winning their first five matches. Following a loss to Grand Valley State, Mercyhurst reeled off four wins in a row, all GLIAC matches, to move to 9-1 on the season. The Lakers faced a tough stretch of opponents that included a pair of NCAA Division I institutions and Mercyhurst completed the regular season at 9-5 and 6-3 in the GLIAC, good for fourth place. The Lakers went 2-1 at the GLIAC Championships to finish fifth and complete the fall campaign.

Individually, freshman Kim Ezzo was named first team all-conference after posting a combined record of 26-9 in singles and doubles, while senior Jennifer Daly and junior Jaclyn McLean were named to the second team. Sophomore Meghan Raynor received honorable mention recognition.

Although the top eight teams in the region receive a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament, it is likely that Mercyhurst will need to climb to No. 7 to advance to the postseason. Each region conference winner gets an automatic bid and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has no teams ranked in the top eight, thereby knocking the No. 8 team from the postseason.