April 29, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina's women's tennis team earned its 14th consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday. The Gamecocks will take on Virginia Commonwealth on Friday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in Athens, Ga., at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Gamecocks, ranked 32nd, posted a 12-9 record in 2008 and went 5-6 in Southeastern Conference play. VCU enters the tournament ranked No. 33, is 18-5 and finished runner-up to No. 24 William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Championship.

In the other first-round match-up in Athens, No. 2 Georgia will square off with Yale at 4 p.m. May 9. The winners will meet at 4 p.m. the following day for a chance to compete in Tulsa, Okla., in the 16-team NCAA Championship over May 15-20.

Tickets for first- and second-round NCAA Tournament matches will be available for purchase Wednesday at 9 a.m. Fans can order tickets by logging on to www.georgiadogs.com or by calling 1-877-542-1231. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for youth (college-aged and younger).

Selections for the 64-person NCAA Singles Championship and 32-team NCAA Doubles Championship will be announced Wednesday on www.ncaasports.com and www.ncaa.org no later than 6 p.m. The Gamecocks' Gira Schofield is currently ranked No. 45 in the nation in singles and No. 34 in doubles with Ana Marija Zubori.