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May 18, 2010

• Championship Bracket

WHAT: Texas (19-5), the No. 16 national seed, continues play in the NCAA Championships this week after posting a pair of wins last weekend at the Norman, Okla., regional. The Longhorns will meet top-seeded Baylor (29-2) in the NCAA round of 16.

WHEN: Thursday, May 20 - 6 p.m. Eastern

WHERE: The University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex - Athens, Ga.

LIVE SCORING/VIDEO - http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-tennis/champpage/c-tennis-div1-index.html

TEXAS NOTES

• Texas is making its second NCAA round-of-16 appearance in the last three seasons. The Longhorns earned their round-of-16 berth by defeating Wichita State and Arkansas (May 14-15) at the Norman, Okla., regional.
• Freshman Aeriel Ellis, who has played at No. 1 singles throughout the season, boasts 32 singles wins in her rookie campaign. Ellis was selected as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and the ITA Texas Regional Rookie Player of the Year last week. The Californian ranks 24th in the latest ITA singles rankings and has earned a berth in the 64-player singles draw at the NCAA Championships.
• UT earned the No. 16 national seed at the NCAA Championships after moving from No. 18 to No. 16 in the final ITA team rankings release before the national championships. It marks the Horns' highest team ranking since January 2009.
• Texas' most recent trip to the NCAA round of 16 came in 2008, when the Horns dropped a 4-2 decision to Georgia Tech in Tulsa, Okla. UT most recently reached the NCAA quarterfinals or beyond in 2005, when the Longhorns reached the NCAA title match against Stanford in Athens.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Texas is making its 28th appearance at the NCAA Tennis Championships. A two-time NCAA champion, UT holds a 41-25 (.621) overall record in the event. The Longhorns captured NCAA team championships in 1993 and 1995 under coach Jeff Moore. Texas finished as the NCAA runner-up in 1992 and 2005 and as a semifinalist in 1990, 1994 and 1997.

At the 2009 NCAA Championships, Texas opened with a 4-1 win over Pepperdine in Berkeley, Calif. The Longhorns were eliminated in the round of 32 by eighth-seeded California, 4-1.

THE ROAD TO ATHENS
Texas opened the NCAA Championships on May 14 with a 4-0 win over Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State in Norman, Okla. The Longhorns squared off against 24th-ranked Arkansas in the tournament's second round on May 15 and dealt the Razorbacks a 4-0 defeat to secure its second berth in the NCAA round of 16 in the last three seasons.

SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor locked up its sixth straight trip to the NCAA round of 16 with a pair of 4-0 wins over Northwestern State and Tulsa (May 14-15) in the Waco regional. The top-seeded and top-ranked Bears bring a 23-match winning streak into Thursday's date with the Longhorns. Baylor features fifth-ranked senior Lenka Broosova and 20th-ranked Nina Secerbegovic.

Baylor and Texas met twice in Austin this season. The Bears posted a 5-2 win during the regular season on March 28 and defeated Texas by a 4-0 count in the finals of the Big 12 Championship on May 2.

SCOUTING THE FIELD OF 16
Texas holds a 1-4 record against the teams comprising the NCAA field of 16 in Athens. UT upset fifth-ranked and fifth-seeded Northwestern by a 6-1 count on April 10 in Austin. Texas fell to Stanford last February in Austin and to Tennessee in January on the Lady Vols' home courts.

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
Singles
24. Aeriel Ellis
63. Krista Damico
75. Vanja Corovic

Doubles
49. Vanja Corovic/Aeriel Ellis

ELLIS, DAMICO, COROVIC EARN BIG 12 POSTSEASON HONORS
Texas freshman Aeriel Ellis was selected Wednesday, May 12 as the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year in a vote conducted by the league's head women's tennis coaches. Ellis also earned All-Big 12 singles honors alongside sophomore Krista Damico, and she earned All-Big 12 doubles recognition with senior Vanja Corovic.

Ellis posted a 7-3 mark in Big 12 play at No. 1 singles. She holds a 32-12 overall singles record this season, including a 13-6 mark in dual matches. Ellis is UT's first Big 12 Freshman of the Year since Corovic in 2007.

Damico boasts a 28-11 overall singles record, including a 15-7 dual-match mark and a 9-2 record in conference play. Damico holds the No. 63 slot in the latest ITA singles rankings.

Ellis and Corovic, who hold the No. 49 slot in the latest ITA doubles rankings, notched a 5-2 league record, primarily at No. 1 doubles. The duo owns a 16-6 overall record and a 14-6 mark in dual-match play. Notably, Corovic becomes Texas' first four-time All-Big 12 doubles selection and just the third four-time all-conference doubles selection in school history.

TEXAS EARNS THREE ITA REGIONAL AWARDS
The Longhorns earned three ITA Texas regional awards, as announced Wednesday, May 12 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Freshman Aeriel Ellis was tabbed as the ITA Texas Region Rookie Player of the Year, while assistant coach Darija Klaic was selected as the region's Assistant Coach of the Year. Senior Sarah Lancaster was named the regional recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship. All three recipients advance to the national ballots in each category. The national winners will be announced on May 25.

After receiving the ITA's regional Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship a year ago, Lancaster earned the Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship, which goes to a player who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. A three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection, Lancaster boasts a 25-8 overall singles record, including a 11-0 mark in Big 12 regular season dual matches.

Now in her fifth season as an assistant coach at Texas, Klaic helped UT to a No. 16 seed at the week's NCAA Championships. Klaic and head coach Patty Fendick-McCain led the Horns to a 19-5 overall record and a 10-1 record in Big 12 matches. Klaic and Fendick-McCain have led UT to the finals at the Big 12 Championships in each of their five seasons in Austin. The duo led Texas to the NCAA round of 16 in 2008.

ELLIS EARNS NCAA SINGLES BID
Texas freshman Aeriel Ellis has earned an at-large bid to compete in the 64-player singles draw to be contested May 26-31 at the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.

The 24th-ranked Ellis posted a 32-12 overall singles record during her freshman campaign, including a 13-6 mark in dual-match play at No. 1 singles. Ellis added a 7-3 mark in Big 12 regular-season competition.

Ellis won the 64-player singles draw at the ITA Texas Regional Championship last fall. She also competed in the other two national championship events on the college tennis schedule, the ITA All-American Championships and the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.

The Big 12 Conference selected Ellis on April 13 as its women's tennis co-player of the week after she went undefeated in singles and doubles in the Horns' win over No. 5 Northwestern on April 10. Ellis shared the award with Texas A&M's Nazari Urbina. Ellis upset Northwestern's 13th-ranked Maria Mosolova at No. 1 singles to clinch the Longhorns' 6-1 victory over the fifth-ranked Wildcats. Ellis also helped the Horns clinch the doubles point when she teamed up with Vanja Corovic to post an 8-5 win over NU's 23rd-ranked duo of Lauren Lui and Mosolova at No. 1 doubles.

HORNS REACH BIG 12 FINALS FOR SIXTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON
Texas maintained its standing among the Big 12 Conference's elite programs in women's tennis, as the Longhorns totaled a 10-1 conference record and reached the finals at the Big 12 Championships for a sixth consecutive year.

The Longhorns earned the second seed at the Big 12 Championship and opened the event in Austin with a 4-1 win over Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. UT followed with a 4-0 win over third-seeded Nebraska in the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Baylor in the title match, 4-0.

DAMICO, CRADDOCK AND LANCASTER EARN BIG 12 TITLES
Sarah Lancaster and Krista Damico won Big 12 individual titles by way of their regular season conference records, as did the doubles tandem of Damico and Amanda Craddock.

Lancaster is the Big 12 champion at No. 5 singles after going 11-0 in league play. Damico earns the individual title at No. 3 singles at 9-2, and Damico and Craddock won the title at No. 2 doubles with a 9-2 overall record.

LONGHORNS MOVE UP IN ITA TEAM RANKINGS
Texas moved from No. 18 to No. 16 in latest week's ITA team rankings, marking its highest position since January 2009.

Texas moved into the ITA top-25 at No. 20 on April 13 on the strength of its 6-1 victory over then-No. 5 Northwestern on April 10. It marked UT's first victory over an ITA top-five opponent since February 2006, when the Horns knocked off Georgia Tech at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

LANCASTER MAINTAINS DOMINANCE OF BIG 12 FOES
Texas senior Sarah Lancaster maintained her excellence in conference play this season with a perfect 11-0 mark in Big 12 regular-season matches. The San Antonio native will finish her Longhorns career with a sterling 40-1 record in Big 12 regular-season competition.