MASON, Ohio – The University of Dayton women's tennis team is heading to Mason, Ohio this week to compete in the 2016 Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championship. The Flyers will play as the No. 9 seed and open up with No. 8 Fordham.
Their matchup will begin Thursday, April 21 at 12 p.m. at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The winner of the match takes on the No. 1 seed VCU on Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m.
Dayton is anchored by sophomore Maryls Bridgham, who has been a mainstay at the No. 1 singles spot. The Gibsonia, Pa. native has a 2-2 record in conference play and has compiled a 10-12 mark as the Flyers' top singles player.
Junior
Alex Townsend will play a key role in Dayton's success this weekend as well. The Jupiter, Fla. native has played well this season as the Flyers' No. 2 singles player, amassing a 7-9 record in the spot. She's combined with sophomore
Jackie Kawamoto at No. 2 doubles to go 7-6 on the season.
Being counted on at No. 3 singles will be freshman
Mattea Kilstofte. The rookie has a 9-6 record as the No. 3 this season and a 12-8 overall record playing at No. 2, 3 and 4 singles. She'll join forces with Bridgham as the top doubles pair, with the duo going 6-7 on the season in that spot.
Jackie Kawamoto, from Indianapolis, Ind., has had a strong sophomore campaign, going 14-4 overall on the season, earning seven wins as UD's No. 4 player and six more as Dayton's No. 5.
Fellow sophomore
Jade Kawamoto has the Flyers' best overall record on the season at 16-2, splitting time between No. 3, 4, and 5 singles. The Indianapolis, Ind. native was a key contributor to the doubles success on the season as well, combining with junior
Mandy Marchant to go 5-1 at No. 3 doubles and 8-6 overall.
Marchant is UD's final key contributor for the weekend. The Bainbridge, Ohio native has put together a fine season overall, going 8-9 in singles and finishing 12-8 with various partners in doubles. The junior finished 5-2 at No. 5 singles and went 5-1 with
Jade Kawamoto at No. 3 doubles.
The nine seed in the tournament is the Flyers highest seeding since 2011, when Dayton was also No. 9. Seeding for the championship is determined by the Atlantic 10 seeding committee based on regular season results, rankings and strength of opponents. The A-10 does not play a regular season conference schedule.
Every match of the championship will be played at Lindner Family Tennis Center, which has hosted the A-10 Men's or Women's Championships the last four years (2012- 2015). Admission will be free for the A-10 Championship.
The semifinals will be played Saturday at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm and the championship finale is Sunday at 10:00 am. The winner of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Flyers finished the regular season with an overall record of 14-9 and a 3-3 mark against Atlantic 10 opponents.
