Florida A&M and Florida State tennis ready to represent Tallahassee in NCAA Tournament
It has been a magical, historical season for Florida A&M women's tennis.
At Florida State, it's business as usual for the men's and women's programs.
After winning their first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship in program history, the Rattlers (11-11) will have at least one more opportunity to play.
This time on the national stage.
FAMU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament in Athens, Georgia, for Friday's regional round against host and No. 4 seed Georgia (24-4).
It will be the Rattlers' first-ever appearance in the national tournament.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗖𝗔𝗔 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘!!#FAMU | #FAMUly | #Rattlers | #FangsUp 🐍 pic.twitter.com/lvDyZ79RYx
— Florida A&M Athletics (@FAMUAthletics) May 1, 2023
"I'm excited for the young ladies to get to experience this opportunity," FAMU head coach Rochelle 'Nikki' Houston said. "We've played high caliber schools throughout the early spring season and it just helped us for what we're going to face this weekend.
"I'm very proud of them. It's an experience that we're going to enjoy."
At FSU, the 24th-ranked women's team (16-10) has been selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time in school history. The Seminoles will join the Rattlers in Athens and face Illinois (18-9).
The No. 17 men's team (19-8) was also selected to its 24th NCAA Tournament in program history. The Seminoles will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to play Baylor (17-15) in the first round.
MORE LOCAL SPORTS COVERAGE
Big Bend Preps: Youth not an issue for Rickards' football entering spring campaign
NoleSports: Who could be Florida State football's top NFL Draft prospects in 2024?
RattlerNews: HBCU talent is being devalued and disparaged in their pursuit of the NFL
Tallahassee Community College: Corey Hendren named men's basketball head coach
Youthfulness not a deterrence for FAMU tennis' hopes of a NCAA Tournament run
The rings are already sized up for FAMU's SWAC title ― the team's first conference trophy since winning the MEAC in 1997.
But the motivation for more still exists in the Rattlers' first-time tournament berth.
"We're all very excited and have been preparing for this the whole season," FAMU's Sara Rakim, who was named SWAC Player of the Year said. "Our goal was to get the ring, but we're never done ― we always want more and we're ready to play Georgia."
The Rattlers have a young team.
Their eight-player roster features six underclassmen. But that won't halt FAMU's drive in attempting to defeat the Bulldogs.
"It's a fresh team, but we've gotten closer," Sierra Sandy, a sophomore said. "Some schools may think that we're easy competition because we've never played before. But, my team has shown that we have a lot of talent, a lot of fight, and that we're here to win."
The postseason berth is already there.
A run in the NCAA Tournament would check off another objective that the team has set forth.
"It's the small things," Houston said. "These young ladies hate losing, so it doesn't really matter who we're playing — we're prepared for that match.
"We're continuously putting up goals. We reached the goal that we wanted to this season, but it would be nice to put another one under our belt."
No. 24 Florida State Women's Tennis selected to NCAA Tournament
The Seminoles have received a bid to six straight NCAA Tournaments, and 15 under head coach Jenifer Hyde. Hyde has led FSU to 16 of the program's 18 victories in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida State has found recent success in the NCAA Tournament, making two quarterfinal appearances in the past four seasons.
The Seminoles' 16 wins this season include six ranked wins and three victories over top-25 opponents.
NCAA Tournament Regional Round Information
Tickets for this weekend's matches are on sale online at Georgia Bulldogs | Online Ticket Office | Event Groups (evenue.net). Fans can also purchase tickets at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex beginning one hour before the start of the first match each day. Will call opens at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and seniors. The ticket is good for the entire day.
Schedule
Friday, May 5
10 a.m. — Florida State vs. Illinois
1 p.m. — Georgia vs. Florida A&M
No. 17 Florida State Men's Tennis earns bid to NCAA Tournament
This will be the Seminoles ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 10 years. In last year’s NCAA Tournament, Florida State defeated Georgia State before upsetting No. 11 Georgia to advance to the Super Regional.
Florida State head coach Dwayne Hultquist has led the Seminoles to 17 NCAA appearances. Florida State compiled 10 ranked wins in the spring, with three of those wins coming against top-15 opponents.
South Carolina State and host South Carolina are the other teams in the regional.
Seminoles.com contributed to this report.
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.
Follow the Tallahassee Democrat on social media at Tallahassee Democrat (Facebook), TallahasseeDemocrat (Instagram), and @TDOnline (Twitter)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: NCAA Tennis: FAMU and FSU ready to take on the Tournament Regionals
