The Quinnipiac women’s tennis team will face the No. 2 overall seed Texas A&M Aggies in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday at 1 p.m.. 

Last year, the Bobcats got bounced by Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament 4-0. The team looks to push further into the bracket this year and avoid another first-round exit. Facing one of the top teams in the country, the Bobcats have their work cut out for them. 

Quinnipiac is coming in red hot, winning its last nine matches in a row, including the MAAC playoffs. Overall, the Bobcats are 15-8 (8-0 MAAC), including the playoffs. Graduate student Kamilla Nella and senior Claire Koscielski — captains of the team —  look to lead the way and continue their consistent play in the postseason.

Texas A&M finished the year 27-2 overall and 13-0 in the SEC. The only losses came in the playoffs of two separate tournaments. One at the hands of UNC in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships and the other to Georgia in the SEC finals. In every one of the Aggies’ wins, they never lost more than two points in the match. 

For Quinnipiac, freshmen Vera Sekerina and Nikole Lisovyy performed well throughout the season and came up big when it mattered most. Sekerina won the MAAC championship-clinching match for the Bobcats while Lisovyy went a perfect 4-0 on the weekend and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament. 

Quinnipiac will have a tough hill to climb coming into the NCAA tournament, having been swept 4-0 in the opening round of every previous appearance, most recently to South Carolina in 2018 and last year to Duke. The Bobcats look to change their NCAA history with a win over a top ranked opponent in Texas A&M.