CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- Juniors Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long both received bids to represent the No. 8 North Carolina women's tennis team in the 2006 NCAA Individual Championships, which will take place May 23-28 at Stanford, Calif. Long will compete in both singles and doubles, as she received at-large bids for both. The tournament consists of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams in the country. Competition will begin one day after the NCAA Team Championships conclude, also set at Stanford.

Currently ranked 38th in the country in the latest Fila/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, Long has led the Tar Heels mainly at the one seed all season. A native of Fremont, Calif., Long posts an overall season record of 28-12 and a 13-10 record at the one seed. This will be the first year competing in the singles draw for Long.

Long and Sara Anundsen, a pair that holds a national ranking of 6th, were selected with an at-large bid to compete in the doubles draw. The Tar Heel pair has been a dominant force for Carolina playing all year at the one seed. The tandem defeated the then-ranked No. 1 duo in the country, Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson of Notre Dame on February 12 with an 8-3 victory. The Carolina pair has also defeated then-ranked No. 9 duo of Carol Salge and Federica van Adrichem of Clemson, 8-3. Anundsen and Long currently post an overall record of 33-11 on the season.

The Tar Heel pair is seeded at the No. 8 spot, as seeds 5-8 are listed alphabetically by school, following Melissa Anderson and Elsa O'Riain of Harvard. The only other Atlantic Coast Conference team that earned a doubles seed is Miami with Melissa Applebaum and Audra Cohen at the two seed. By receiving a bid in the championships, Anundsen and Long also earned All-American honors. Long and Anundsen received an alternate bid in the 2005 NCAA Individual Championships.

Head coach Brian Kalbas is extremely proud of the Tar Heel pair. "This is an incredible honor for Sara [Anundsen] and Jenna [Long] to receive All American recognition," said Kalbas. "They have worked extremely hard to improve as a doubles pair and are now one of the best teams in the country. They began their career together playing number three doubles as freshmen to playing number two and being an alternate for the 2005 NCAA's to being ranked No. 6 in the nation and earning All-American status. Everybody associated with the women's tennis program wishes to congratulate Sara and Jenna on their accomplishment."

The Tar Heels will begin its run in the NCAA Team Championships hosting the first and second rounds of the competition Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13. The first round of action will take place Friday with the winners facing off in the second round on Saturday at 3 p.m. No. 8 North Carolina will take on South Carolina State at 12 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, while No. 21 Wake Forest faces No. 36 South Carolina at 3 p.m. on Friday. The winner of the second round match on Saturday will advance to the round of 16 May 18 at Stanford. The team championships close out May 22 and the individual competition will start May 23. Stanford serves host to both men's and women's team and individual competitions for the first time this year.