NCAA Bracket
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Nine Atlantic Coast Conference teams were selected to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships, marking the fifth straight time the ACC has placed at least nine teams in the tournament. The nine teams are the second most of any conference.
Top-seeded North Carolina, No. 6 NC State, No. 7 Florida State, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 14 Virginia, Duke, Miami, Syracuse and Wake Forest all received bids as announced by the NCAA Monday evening. The ACC’s five top-16 seeds are the most of any league, and all five will host first- and second-round matches.
North Carolina (26-0) will host South Carolina State (6-4) and will make its 22nd straight NCAA appearance. VCU (14-9) will head to Raleigh to face NC State (16-5), where the Wolfpack earned its 11th tournament bid. Florida State (16-5) also earned its 22nd trip to the NCAA Championship and will face off with Alabama State (9-6) at home. Georgia Tech (18-10) will host Georgia Southern (19-8) in the Yellow Jackets’ 21st straight NCAA appearance, and LIU (9-0) will travel to Virginia (14-6) for the Cavaliers’ 20th NCAA bid.
In other ACC first-round action, Duke (15-6), earning its 31st consecutive NCAA bid and 32nd overall, will play Alabama (12-12) in the Baylor Regional. Miami (14-8) will play FIU (12-1) in the Waco Regional as the Hurricanes made their 25th straight NCAA Tournament and ACC-best 35th overall. Making its third straight NCAA appearance, Syracuse (8-11) will head out west to the Berkeley Regional to meet Kentucky (15-8). Wake Forest (11-12) will face Furman (21-6) in the Athens Regional as the Demon Deacons earned their fifth consecutive NCAA bid and 20th overall.
Due to the health and safety protocols surrounding the pandemic, first- and second-round sites were selected from a group of 20 predetermined sites rather than awarded to strictly the top seeded teams. Seed was factored into the final determination of the sites, and matchups between conference opponents were avoided in the first two rounds of the championship.
First- and second-round competition takes place May 7-8 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 16-28. The event will be hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.