Colby-Sawyer Draws No. 8 Middlebury as NCAA DIII Women’s Tennis Tournament Opener

NCAA RELEASE
INTERACTIVE BRACKET

INDIANAPOLIS – 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Tennis Champion Colby-Sawyer will travel to No. 11 MIT to take on No. 8 Middlebury in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship. The match is scheduled for Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m.

The Chargers were one of 49 teams selected into this year’s field, which was announced on Monday (May 5) afternoon during the NCAA.com Selection Show. Thirty-eight teams, including Colby-Sawyer, earned their way into this year’s bracket by winning their conference’s automatic qualifier with the remainder of the field selected at-large.

The Chargers won the GNAC AQ after winning the conference championship tournament back in the fall as the No. 1 seed. They went 4-0 in GNAC play and carry a 10-7-1 record into the NCAA Tournament. In the GNAC Tournament, they defeated No. 4 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 6-1, in the semifinals before getting the best of No. 3 seed Regis in the title match, 6-3, to claim the conference crown.

Middlebury, which is currently ranked No. 8 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rankings, was an at-large selection into this year’s field after falling the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) semifinals. The Panthers went 12-5 overall this season, including a 9-1 record in NESCAC play. They were the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC Tournament and defeated No. 7 seed Colby in the quarterfinals 5-1, but dropped a 5-4 decision to No. 3 seed Amherst in the semifinals.

MIT, which is currently ranked No. 11 in the ITA Rankings, received a bye directly into the Second Round. The Engineers were the automatic qualifiers out of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).

They will also be hosting two other first round matchups on Friday as No. 40 TNCJ (16-2, 5-0 NJAC) takes on Manhattanville (8-4, 4-2 Skyline) and No. 50 Whitman (16-7, 7-0 NWC) plays Endicott (11-9, 6-0 CCC). All four of those teams were automatic qualifiers with TCNJ earning the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) bid, Manhattanville earning the AQ out of the Skyline Conference, Whitman claiming the Northwest Conference (NWC) championship berth, and Endicott representing the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).

MIT is one of eight NCAA Regional sites hosting first, second, and third round matches during the opening weekend. The regional winners will advance to St. Louis, Mo. to play in the team championships at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center from Tuesday-Friday, May 21-24 with Washington University in St. Louis serving as host.

2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship Schedule

First Round – Friday, May 10
(Hosted by No. 11 MIT – Cambridge, Mass.)

Colby-Sawyer vs. No. 8 Middlebury, 10 a.m.
No. 40 TCNJ vs. Manhattanville, 1 p.m.
No. 50 Whitman vs. Endicott, 1 p.m.

Second Round – Saturday, May 11
(Hosted by No. 11 MIT – Cambridge, Mass.)

Colby-Sawyer/No. 8 Middlebury vs. No. 40 TCNJ/Manhattanville, Noon
No. 50 Whitman/Endicott vs. No. 11 MIT, Noon

Regional Final – Sunday, May 12
(Hosted by No. 11 MIT – Cambridge, Mass.)

Second Round Winners, Noon

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

Stay up to date with all the latest news from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)!
'Follow' us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, and 'Like' us on Facebook!

-#TheGNAC-