April 30, 2003

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University, ranked no. 64 nationally, will take on the nations second ranked team, the University of Florida, Friday May 9. In its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, FAU (19-5) was awarded a no. 16 seed and will face second seeded, and regional host, Florida at 2:00 pm in Gainesville, FL. The Lady Owls earned an automatic bid when they defeated Campbell University for the Atlantic Sun Championship on April 19.

The other NCAA Women's First Round match being played in Gainesville features Tulane (19-4) versus Texas (11-14). That match is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am on Friday. The wining teams from both matches play each other in the Second Round on Saturday at 5:00 pm.

The Lady Owls have been on a roll of late winning 12 of their last 13 matches. Included in that stretch was a dominating performance in the A-Sun Tournament. FAU won its three matches in the A-Sun by a combined score of 12-1.

FAU did not face UF in dual match play this season, but the Lady Owls did participate in the Gator Fall Classic in October. Alena Dvorakova, FAU's top singles player, went 4-1 in that tournament, winning the Back Draw Final. Overall, FAU only played one match against a UF opponent during the tournament, going 0-1.