TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati tennis program will compete in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tennis Championships on Wednesday when the No. 7-seeded Bearcats face-off against No.10-seeded Wichita State at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The winner will play another 9 a.m. match Thursday against No. 2 seed SMU (14-8) with the Championship continuing through Saturday, April 23.
Seeds for the championships are determined by the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
HOW TO WATCH
Complete coverage of The American Tennis Championships, including live scoring of each match, can be found on the conference's Championship Central site. Live coverage of the women's and men's finals will be available on ESPN+.
LAST TIME THE BEARCATS FACED OFF AGAINST THE SHOCKERS
Back on March 17, UC victorious over the WSU, winning 4-3 on the road at the Coleman Tennis Complex.
After earning the doubles point and a default win on court six, Miceli went on to sweep Clara Whitaker 6-0 and 6-0 on court five to earn the third point for Cincinnati. Wichita State tied the match up 3-3 with three straight singles points on courts one, two, and three. The final point came down to court four. Redshirt junior Maria Santilli fell in the first set to Harriet Hamilton, but came back to win the next two sets 6-1 and 6-2 to secure the singles point and the match point for UC.
All-time, Wichita State holds the advantage over UC 2-1.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
April 20-23 | Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Oklahoma
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati tennis, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team (@GoBearcatsWTEN) and Head Coach Eric Toth (@EricToth1) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook
The winner will play another 9 a.m. match Thursday against No. 2 seed SMU (14-8) with the Championship continuing through Saturday, April 23.
Seeds for the championships are determined by the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
HOW TO WATCH
Complete coverage of The American Tennis Championships, including live scoring of each match, can be found on the conference's Championship Central site. Live coverage of the women's and men's finals will be available on ESPN+.
LAST TIME THE BEARCATS FACED OFF AGAINST THE SHOCKERS
Back on March 17, UC victorious over the WSU, winning 4-3 on the road at the Coleman Tennis Complex.
After earning the doubles point and a default win on court six, Miceli went on to sweep Clara Whitaker 6-0 and 6-0 on court five to earn the third point for Cincinnati. Wichita State tied the match up 3-3 with three straight singles points on courts one, two, and three. The final point came down to court four. Redshirt junior Maria Santilli fell in the first set to Harriet Hamilton, but came back to win the next two sets 6-1 and 6-2 to secure the singles point and the match point for UC.
All-time, Wichita State holds the advantage over UC 2-1.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
- The Bearcats finish the regular duals season 15-6.
- The Bearcats are coming off an 0-2 weekend where they lost to No. 52 Memphis 4-0 and Tulane 4-1.
- Freshman Elizabeth Pendergast earned AAC women's tennis player of the week accolades on April 5 after going 3-0 in singles play on court one the week prior. Pendergast is 9-10 in singles action on the season.
- Redshirt sophomore Kelli Niehuas leads the team with a 14-2 singles record, split between courts 3-6. She started the seaon 11-0 before falling in her first singles match of the season against Xavier.
- Redshirt senior Emma Miceli had a strong Spring season, finishing 14-5.
- In doubles, Freshman Callie Flanagan and Niehaus lead the way with a 13-3 record on the season.
- The Bearcats went on an 11-match win streak between Jan. 29 and March 20, marking the longest win streak in progam history.
- Wichita State is 8-12 overall on the season.
- With mounting injuries, WSU has played shorthanded in each of its last six duals, resulting in default losses at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.
- WSU takes a two-match winning streak into the postseason after 6-1 victories over Emporia State and Kansas City on April 6 and 10.
- Natsumi Kurahashi (18-10) has an 8-7 mark at No. 1 singles and has won six of her last nine decisions.
- LingWei Kong has won four of her last six singles matches since moving back to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
- Jessie Zheng (16-9) has been excellent in April, winning all three of her No. 3 singles matches in straight sets while posting a perfect 3-0 mark at No. 1 doubles.
April 20-23 | Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Oklahoma
| First Round | Wednesday, April 20 | |
| No. 10 Wichita State (8-12) vs. No. 7 Cincinnati (15-6) | 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT |
| No. 11 East Carolina (4-13) vs. No. 6 Houston (13-9) | 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT |
| No. 9 South Florida (5-16) vs. No. 8 Temple (11-5) | 1 p.m./Noon CT |
| Quarterfinals | Thursday, April 21 | |
| Wichita State Cincinnati winner vs. No. 2 SMU (13-8) | 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT |
| East Carolina/Houston winner vs. No. 3 Tulsa (15-7) | 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT |
| No. 5 Tulane (12-8) vs No. 4 Memphis (17-5) | 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT |
| South Florida/Temple winner vs. No. 1 UCF (15-4) | 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT |
| Semifinals | Friday, April 22 | |
| Quarterfinal winners | 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT |
| Quarterfinal winners | 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT |
| Final | Sunday, April 23 | ESPN+ | |
| Semifinal winners | 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT |
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati tennis, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team (@GoBearcatsWTEN) and Head Coach Eric Toth (@EricToth1) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook