NEWPORT NEWS, Va. –   For the fifth straight year, the VCU Rams have been chosen as the top seed in the 2017 Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Tennis Championship, the league announced Tuesday. The championship begins Wednesday, April 26 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

The Rams (14-8) finished their spring campaign with a 5-2 win over cross-town rival Richmond. In doubles play, the Rams are led by Anna Rasmussen and Janina Braun in the top spot. The pair ended their regular season sophomore campaigns with a 17-9 record. Braun leads the team in wins with 23 at No. 1. The lone senior on the squad, Darya Berezhnaya, looks to end her career on a high note after ending the regular season with a 10-5 doubles record and 20-7 overall. The Rams earn a first-round bye and will face the winner of No. 8 Richmond/No. 9 George Washington on Friday at 9:00 am.

Massachusetts (9-7)  will be the number two seed and will also receive a bye,  before facing the winner of No. 7 Duquesne/No. 10 George Mason on Friday at noon. The Minutewomen head into the championship riding a two game win streak, which came against conference opponents. Senior, Brittany Collens leads the team in wins with a 19-8 overall record. In doubles play, freshman Janja Kovacevic and junior Ana Yrazusta are 15-7 together on the season and have a four match win streak heading into the championship.

Wednesday’s first-round action opens at 9:00 am with No. 4 Davidson (14-5) taking on No. 13 St. Bonaventure (7-16) and No. 5 Saint Louis (14-7) facing No. 12 Saint Joseph’s (6-15). The winners face off in Friday’s 9:00 am quarterfinal match.

In the second session of the day, No. 8 Richmond (9-13) will face off against No. 9 George Washington (11-9) and No. 3 Fordham (18-3) will challenge No. 14 La Salle (2-14) at 12:30 pm. The winner of Richmond/George Washington earns a spot in Thursday’s 4:00 pm quarterfinal match against top-seeded VCU, with the Fordham/La Salle winner will take on the winner of Dayton/Rhode Island at 9:00 am on Friday.

Wednesday’s final session will feature No. 6 Dayton (10-11) against No. 11 Rhode Island (8-15) and No. 7 Duquesne (13-8) versus No. 10 George Mason (15-8), both beginning at 4:00 pm. The Winners of Duquesne/George Mason will take on No. 2 Massachusetts.

Every match of the championship will be played at the new, state-of-the-art USTA National Campus, which is hosting the A-10 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship for the first time. Admission will be free for the A-10 Championships. Click to watch streams of both championships here.

The semifinals will be played Saturday at 10:00 am and the championship finale is Sunday at 10:00 am and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The winner of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.