Eight of the top teams in the nation will be competing in the 2015 ITA Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championship, hosted by DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Play begins on Friday, February 27 and wraps up on Sunday, March 1.
Johns Hopkins successfully defended its title last year, defeating Carnegie Mellon in the final for the second consecutive season. The Tartans, who have made three consecutive finals appearances, will look to end the Blue Jays streak and claim their second title. Washington & Lee is the only other team in the draw who has won this event.
Play begins Friday, with the first day featuring two sessions, one at 10am CT and the other at 3:30pm CT. In the day's first session, No. 2 seed Carnegie Mellon takes on seventh-seeded Washington & Lee while third-seeded Washington University-St. Louis battles No. 6 seed Skidmore. The afternoon session features two-time defending champion Johns Hopkins (No. 1 seed) vs. eighth-seeded Sewanee and host DePauw (No. 4 seed) against No. 5 seed Chicago.
The winners of Friday's matches advance to the semifinals, which are slated for Saturday at 2pm CT. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 10am CT. For the complete draw, click here.
Below is an in-depth look at the eight teams competing for the 2015 ITA Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championship title:
Carnegie Mellon
ITA Ranking: 7
Tournament Seed: 2
1st Round Opponent: Washington & Lee
The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team enters the ITA National Team Indoor Championship with a 5-1 record. The Tartans' lone loss came at the hands of NCAA Division I Duquesne University early in February. Carnegie Mellon, ranked seventh in the nation, is led by senior Angela Pratt and sophomore Vanessa Pavia in singles and the doubles pair of senior Bryn Raschke and freshman Cori Sidell. Pratt and Pavia alternate at No. 1 and No. 2 singles while sophomore Nicolle Torres has had the most consistent season thus far with a 9-2 singles mark.
Chicago
ITA Ranking: 12
Tournament Seed: 5
1st Round Opponent: DePauw
The No. 12-ranked University of Chicago women's tennis team has started the season with a 4-2 record and has won its last three matches. Most recently, the Maroons defeated NCAA Division II opponent Lewis University by a score of 6-3 on Feb. 14. Chicago is led by senior Megan Tang (11-4) and freshman Ariana Iranpour (14-3) in the top singles spots. Iranpour and Tang also team up at No. 1 doubles (14-4), and the duo won the USTA/ITA Central Regional Championship back in September. Freshman Jasmine Lee (13-3) is currently riding a six-match win streak.
DePauw
ITA Ranking: 11
Tournament Seed: 4
1st Round Opponent: Chicago
DePauw enters the event ranked 11th in the ITA Division III National Team Rankings with a 2-1 dual match record. The Tigers feature a veteran lineup that includes six seniors who are competing in their fourth ITA National Team Indoor Championship including a third-place finish in 2012, fifth in 2013 and seventh last season. Claire Marshall comes into the tournament ranked 18th in the ITA Central Region Rankings, while DePauw also sports two regionally-ranked doubles teams. Kaitlin Pickrel and Julie Wittwer are ranked 13th in the region with Maggie MacPhail and Marshall ranked 14th. Both advanced to the USTA/ITA Central Regional Championship quarterfinals in the fall.
Johns Hopkins
ITA Ranking: 4
Tournament Seed: 1
1st Round Opponent: Sewanee
No. 4 Johns Hopkins has won two straight ITA National Team Indoor Championships and achieved the program's first No. 1 national ranking on March 5, 2013. The Blue Jays have won a record 80 consecutive regular-season Centennial Conference matches and eight straight conference titles. Johns Hopkins has also made eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including three consecutive NCAA Quarterfinals with a program-best fourth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championship. This fall, Ashnaa Rao became the first player in program history to win the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Singles Championship and went on to also become the first Blue Jay to win the USTA/ITA National Small College Singles Championship.
Sewanee
ITA Ranking: 21
Tournament Seed: 8
1st Round Opponent: Johns Hopkins
No. 21 Sewanee will be making its first appearance at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The undefeated Tigers (3-0) are coming off a 21-4 campaign in 2013-14 in which they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Team Championships. Sewanee returns the ITA All-American doubles pairing of Bronte Goodhue and Lindsey Liles, who finished ranked 10th nationally in doubles and No. 15 and 33, respectively, in singles. This fall, juniors Kate Johnston and Elske Parker claimed their second consecutive consolation title at the USTA/ITA Atlantic South Regional Championship.
Skidmore
ITA Ranking: 17
Tournament Seed: 6
1st Round Opponent: Washington University-St. Louis
The 17th ranked Skidmore College women's tennis team is working toward a ninth straight and 18th overall NCAA Division III tournament bid. The Thoroughbreds (4-0) will be playing for a fifth consecutive Liberty League championship. Skidmore's singles lineup is led by senior Zoe Valella, who pairs with senior Yumi Karlshoej in doubles. Madeline Benn, a 2014 ITA All-American in doubles, is paired with freshman Brianna Greene at No. 1doubles and has played at first and second singles. The Thoroughbreds lineup features up to five first-year players.
Washington & Lee
ITA Ranking: 20
Tournament Seed: 7
1st Round Opponent: Carnegie Mellon
Washington & Lee completed the 2013-14 season with an 18-3 overall record and won the program's 12th straight conference title. The Generals advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Emory. Washington & Lee returns three senior ITA All-Americans for the 2014-15 season, three-time ODAC Player of the Year Sonja Meighan, who is a four-time ITA All-America honoree. Classmate Meghan Buell was an ITA All-American in singles and doubles in 2013, while senior Patricia Kirkland was a doubles ITA All-American each of the last two seasons. Kirkland and Meighan have finished as runners-up in doubles at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships each of the last two years.
Washington University-St. Louis
ITA Ranking: 8
Tournament Seed: 3
1st Round Opponent: Skidmore
No. 8 Washington University-St. Louis opened the season with wins over NCAA Division II University of Southern Indiana and No. 11 DePauw University. The Bears returned six letterwinners from last year's team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals for the second straight year and third time in school history. Sophomore Rebecca Ho won the 2014 USTA/ITA Central Region Singles Championship. She is ranked No. 2 in the ITA Central Region Singles Rankings. Junior Jamie Silverberg (No. 7), freshman Grace Deering (No. 12) and senior Hanna Newstadt (No. 21) are also currently in the Top 25 of the ITA Central Region Singles Rankings.
For complete coverage of the 2015 ITA Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championship, please visit the official ITA event page. Follow the ITA on Twitter, @ITAtennis, for updates and news from the weekend's events and be sure to like us on Facebook for photos and more. Use the hashtag #D3Indoors for all tweets in regards to the event, or search the term "D3Indoors" to find others who are tweeting from across the nation about this year's championship.
About the ITA Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championships
The ITA Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championship is held annually each February. The women's event began in 2009 and will be held for the seventh time in 2015. The event features eight participating teams and is held over three days, beginning on Friday with the quarterfinals, followed by semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday. Two different schools have hosted the event, while Emory (2), Johns Hopkins (2), Carnegie Mellon (1) and Washington & Lee (1) are past champions.
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