Women’s Tennis Four Wins from a Fourth Title

By: Lance Thomas

BOCA RATON, Fla.— Lynn University’s women’s tennis team returns to the NCAA Championships for the 16th-straight year starting Wednesday, May 16, in Louisville, Ky., despite losing four of their top-six players from last season’s NCAA Runner-up team.

The Blue & White earned their trip to the NCAA Round of 16 after cruising to a 5-1 win in the NCAA South Region 2 finals over No. 9 West Florida. Since joining the NCAA in 1997, Lynn has amassed an impressive 40-14 record in NCAA Championship play with three NCAA National Championships in 2001, 1998 and 1997.

Entering the tournament with a 20-4 record on the season, the Fighting Knights have relied heavily on their singles play throughout the year boasting an 80 percent winning mark on the singles courts.

Sophomore, and third-ranked, Ioana Ivan leads LU with a 21-1 singles record. Her only loss on the year came against Barry’s top player, who is no longer on the Buccaneers’ squad. Ivan holds a 10-1 record versus nationally-ranked opponents while playing all 22 matches at the top singles flight for Lynn.

The No. 26 Queens (NY) College Knights represents the first obstacle for Lynn in the round of 16. Queens punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships with an 18-1 record and a 5-4 win over Concordia (NY) in the NCAA East Region 1 Championship.

The Knights of Queens have yet to face a nationally-ranked opponent this year with the majority of their matches coming in the fall semester.