Tennis 4/19/2016 2:10:00 PM Atlantic 10 Conference

Three-Time Defending Champion VCU Top Seed in A-10 Championship

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - For the fourth straight year, the VCU Rams have been chosen as the top seed in the 2016 Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis Championship, the league announced Tuesday. The Championship begins Thursday, April 21 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

The Rams (9-9) finished their spring campaign on a season high four-match win streak, defeating James Madison, 4-3 to end the season. In doubles play, the Rams are led by No. 85 Olga Barshcheuskaya and Darya Berezhnaya who are 9-3 together in the top spot. VCU faced five top 100 ranked opponents, taking down No. 70 Winthrop late in the season. Freshman Anna Rasmussen has been a bright spot for VCU, improving to a team-best 15-8 in singles action. The Rams earn a first round bye and will face the winner of No. 8 Fordham/No. 9 Dayton on Friday at 10:00 am.

Massachusetts (14-6) also receives a bye, and will take on the winner of No. 7 George Washington/No. 10 George Mason on Friday at 1:30 pm. UMass returns a bulk of its lineup that went to the A-10 Championship Final last season, including reigning Rookie of the Year, Ana Yrazusta. This year's impressive rookie performance has come from Ruth Crawford, who stepped into the top singles position for UM, finishing 14-6 in dual matches this spring.

Thursday's first-round action opens at 9:00 am with No. 4 Saint Louis (18-4) taking on No. 13 Rhode Island (1-15) and No. 5 Richmond (12-8) facing No. 12 St. Bonaventure (5-13). The winners face off in Friday's 10:00 am quarterfinal match.

In the second session session of the day, No. 8 Fordham (10-6) will face off against No. 9 Dayton (14-9) and No. 3 Davidson (15-4) will challenge No. 14 La Salle (0-10) at noon. The winner of Fordham/Dayton earns a spot in Friday's 10:00 am quarterfinal match against top-seeded VCU, while the Davidson/La Salle winner will take on the winner of Duquesne/Saint Joseph's at 1:30 pm.

Thursday's final session will feature No. 6 Duquesne (15-5) against No. 11 Saint Joseph's (8-13) and No. 7 George Washington (6-13) versus No. 10 George Mason (9-14), both beginning at 3:00 pm. The winner of GW/George Mason will take on No. 2 Massachusetts.

Every match of the championship will be played at Lindner Family Tennis Center, which has hosted the A-10 Men’s or Women's Championships the last four years (2012- 2015). Admission will be free for the A-10 Championship.

The semifinals will be played Saturday at 10:00 am and 1:30 pm and the championship finale is Sunday at 10:00 am. The winner of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.