The Hope College women’s tennis team is headed to Wisconsin this week to compete in the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship.
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association-champion Flying Dutch will face Northwestern-St. Paul in a first-round match on Thursday at 1 p.m. Central in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
The Hope-Northwestern match will be the second one of the day at the Whitewater regional.
This is Hope’s 11th overall appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship and fifth in a row. The Flying Dutch lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round last season.
Hope enters with an 18-4 overall record. Coach Adam Ford’s Flying Dutch clinched its postseason berth by winning the MIAA Tournament last week.
Northwestern (23-6) is a Pool B selection after winning its third consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship this season. This is the Eagles’ first trip to the NCAA tournament.
Thursday’s winner will face either Whitewater (22-5) or St. Scholastica, Minnesota (19-6) in Friday’s second-round match. Whitewater and St. Scholastica play at 10:30 a.m. Central.
On the other side of the bracket, Wheaton, Illinois (18-1) will play Gustavus-Adolphus, Minnesota (21-7) in Thursday’s final first-round match at 4 p.m. Central. The winner faces top-seeded Chicago (11-5) in the second round on Friday at 3 p.m. Central.
Friday’s winners will meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. Central. to determine the national quarterfinalist.