Hope College tennis player Nancy Benda will compete for a NCAA Division III Individual national championships this month.

The senior from Birmingham, Michigan (Seaholm HS) has been selected as one of 32 singles players to play in the NCAA’s individual championships on Thursday-Saturday, May 25-27 at the Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

This is Benda’s second trip to nationals as individual. She appeared as a freshman in 2014 and lost in the first round to Bronte Goodhue of Sewanee, Tennessee. 

Benda has captained the Flying Dutch this season to the NCAA Division III Tournament as Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions while playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. 

A four-time All-MIAA selection, Benda went 22-5 as a singles player during the regular season as a senior. She ranks among the Flying Dutch all-time leaders for singles wins in a season and in her career with 71. 

For the individual championships, the national committee selected seven singles players and three doubles teams from each of the four regions. Additionally, the committee would then select the remaining four singles players and four doubles team berths from a national at-large pool. The individual championships shall consist of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. 

The selection of teams and individuals for the championships is based on win-loss record, strength of schedule, and eligibility and availability of student-athletes. 

The draw for the individual championship will be done by the women’s tennis committee and will be released on the last day of the team championship. 

The 2016 singles title went to Eudice Chong of Wesleyan (Connecticut). Juli Raventos and Linda Shin of Williams College took the doubles title.