NCAA Championship • USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
Friday, May 12 • 8 p.m. (ET) • #16 St. Mary's (24-4) vs. #18 Columbus State (15-6)
Quarterfinals: Saturday, May 13 • 7 p.m. (ET)
Semifinals: Monday, May 15 • 4 p.m. (ET)
Finals: Tuesday, May 16 • 6 p.m. (ET)
NET POINTS
• For the eighth time in school history and the third-straight season, the St. Mary's Women's Tennis team has advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. This season, the Rattlers face No. 18 Columbus State on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT).
• The Rattlers are 6-1 against teams ranked in the top 50 this season, including back-to-back wins over Angelo State (#26 and #15) in the championship of the Lone Star Tournament and the South Central Regional.
• St. Mary's is also 2-1 against the other 15 teams in the tournament field, with wins over Indiana (PA) and St. Thomas Aquinas during the Spring Break Florida trip and a loss at Cameron last month.
• The Rattlers have met Columbus State once before, in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, a 5-1 victory for the Cougars. In that round of 16 battle, CSU was ranked #3 in the nation, while the Rattlers were #6. Current graduate assistant coach Abby Csengery was on that team, playing #6 singles.
• The Rattlers have 24 victories this year, breaking the school record for wins in a season. The previous record of 21 was held by the 2015, 2016 and 2022 teams - and all three of those also advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• Angela Vargas sports the team's longest active winning streak in singles as she has won 15 straight, including a trio of wins against nationally-ranked foes.
• St. Mary's won the 2023 Lone Star Conference Championship, winning the title for the second-straight season. Kyndall Quiroz was named MVP after scoring the team clinching point in both the quarterfinals and the finals, while Ashley Penshorn, Stela Sifuentes and Angela Vargas were all named All-Tournament. Both Penshorn and Vargas earned their second selections.
• In the ITA individual rankings, senior Ashley Penshorn is 15th in the singles rankings, while senior Angela Vargas is up to #37. Penshorn and Kyndall Quiroz dropped to #10 in the doubles rankings. The next set of rankings will occur on May 24.
• Ashley Penshorn and Angela Vargas were named to the All-Conference First Team in singles, while Vargas was also named to the All-Sportsmanship Team. Penshorn and Kyndall Quiroz earned spots on First Team in doubles. Stela Sifuentes was named to the Second Team in singles and she and Gabi Ioannou earned honorable mention All-Conference in doubles.
