Tennis Seeded Sixth in BIG EAST
4/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2014
NEW YORK - After finishing the regular season with an 11-9 record that included a 2-3 mark in conference play, the Seton Hall tennis team has received the #6 seed for the 2014 BIG EAST Championship it was announced by the conference office on Monday.
With the championship approaching, BIG EAST tennis is set to return to the US National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows - the home of the US Open - as the tournament will be held over four consecutive days beginning Thursday, April 24. Admission is free to the public for all four days of competition.
As the sixth seed in the 10-team field, the Pirates draw a quarterfinal matchup with a third-seeded Xavier squad that posted a 17-5 mark in the spring and went 3-1 against BIG EAST opposition in its first year as a member of the league.
The Pirates and Musketeers are slated to square off on Friday (4/25) at 11:00 a.m. With a win, The Hall would advance to the semifinals to face either #2 Marquette or the winner of an opening round meeting between seventh-seeded Creighton and #10 Butler.
Regardless of the result against Xavier, the Pirates are guaranteed to play at least two matches at the championship as the format also features a consolation bracket. Consolation matches will be held on Saturday afternoon following the completion of semifinal competition. The championship match is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Seton Hall's 11 wins this spring established a new single season high in seven years under head coach Greg Wyzykowski. SHU recorded commanding victories over both eighth-seeded Providence and #9 Villanova while also pushing #5 Georgetown and #4 St. John's to the brink in a pair of 4-3 road losses.
The Red Storm eliminated The Hall from the 2013 championship with a 4-2 victory in the consolation round after the Pirates dropped their opening match against then-conference member Louisville.
Top-seeded Notre Dame defeated hosts USF to claim the conference title a year ago while current top seed DePaul is the lone returning semifinalist from the 2013 tournament.
Check back on SHUPirates.com later this week for a full preview of the Pirates' quarterfinal showdown with Xavier.
