The Gustavus women’s tennis team will face Washington and Lee University in a NCAA Division III Team Championship quarterfinal match at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Tuesday afternoon. Gustavus Adolphus College will be serving as the host of the 2008 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships. The Gusties enter the match with a record of 24-8, while Washington and Lee enters with a mark of 26-0.
Gustavus advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 6-0 win over UW-Whitewater in the second round and a 5-2 win over Wheaton College in the third round. Both matches were played on May 2 and 3 at the Swanson Tennis Center on the Gustavus campus. Washington and Lee advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 5-0 win over Hunter in the second round and a 5-2 win over Carnegie Mellon University. Both matches were played at Carnegie Mellon on May 3 and 4. The winner of the Gustavus/Washington and Lee match will play the winner of the Denison/Emory match on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (CDT) in one of two national semifinal matches.
Gustavus is making its 12th consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals and 19th appearance in the quarterfinals in the past 20 years. Washington and Lee, the defending national champion, made its first appearance in the quarterfinals in 1994 and the Generals have appeared in the quarterfinals every year since (15 consecutive years). Washington and Lee leads the series in the NCAA Tournament 2-1 with the Generals defeating the Gusties 6-3 in the quarterfinal round in 1997 and 5-3 in the quarterfinal round in 2004, while Gustavus knocked off Washington and Lee in the quarterfinal round 6-3 in 1998.