Eagles Set to Face No. 24 Florida in NCAA First Round on Friday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The 42nd-ranked Boston College women's tennis team makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 years on Friday morning (May 3) when the Eagles face No. 24 Florida at 11 a.m. (ET) in the first round at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Kansas. The 11th-seeded Jayhawks will host Denver at 2 p.m. (ET) on Friday afternoon following the BC-Florida match, and the two first round winners will meet on Saturday (May 4) at 2 p.m. (ET).

ABOUT THE EAGLES
BC (16-10) has posted its highest win total in the last two decades and qualified for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large for the first time since 1997. Boston College has a pair of victories over top-30 programs this season, defeating No. 10 Syracuse and No. 27 Miami by 4-3 finals on the Heights during the regular season. Freshman Laura Lopez won the clinching match in both upsets.

The squad's number one doubles pair No. 51 Jackie Urbinati and Kylie Wilcox has won seven straight matches, including three over teams ranked in the top-50 nationally. In singles, Yufei Long is ranked 70th in the ITA rankings to lead the team while Wilcox sits at No. 118 entering the weekend. Both players were named to the All-ACC Third Team last week.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
The Gators enter the NCAA Tournament at 12-11 overall after going 7-6 in the SEC. Both teams lost to the schools' common opponents North Carolina State and Florida State this season. The Gators feature two ranked singles players in No. 15 Ida Jarlskog and No. 30 McCartney Kessler and their top doubles tandem of Kessler and Victoria Emma checks in at No. 25.

Both Jarlskog and Kessler earned All-SEC honors last week, while rookie Marlee Zein earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Florida has qualified for 22 straight NCAA Tournaments under head coach Roland Thornqvist. The Gators lost 4-3 to No. 5 South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Texas after beating Ole Miss in the first round.

NAME SOUND FAMILIAR?
Gators sophomore Victoria Emma is the daughter of David Emma '91, the all-time leading scorer in the history of Boston College men's hockey. Emma finished his career on the Heights with 239 points and won the 1991 Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey's best player. Emma went on to play for the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers in the NHL.

Eagles Set to Face No. 24 Florida in NCAA First Round on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Yufei Long

Laura Lopez

Jackie Urbinati

Kylie Wilcox