April 23, 2006

GARLAND, Texas - Top-seeded SMU and No. 7 seed Rice vie for the 2006 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship crown Sunday at the Garland Tennis Center. The winner earns C-USA's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Rice is looking to earn its first conference championship title. The Owls advanced to the main draw of the WAC tournament for the first time in school history last year.

The Owls pulled off an upset for the second consecutive day as the Owls defeated No. 3 seed Houston, 4-1 in the semifinals of the four-day event. Rice opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over second-seeded Marshall. The appearance marks the first time a seven-seed has made a showing in the C-USA title match.

Host and No. 51 SMU advances to its first Conference USA Women's Tennis championship match after cruising past No. 8 seed UCF and No. 5 seed Tulsa. Both wins were sweeps of conference opponents. The pair of victories improved their record to 19-5 and extended SMU's win streak to 12 consecutive matches, the best record as far back as the 2000 season.

The Ponies look for their second NCAA appearance in three years as the squad reached the second round of the 2004 NCAA tourney.

Match time is slated for 10 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 youth (18 and under).

For more information on the 2006 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship, please visit www.conferenceusa.com and click on Championships.