Brenau Tennis Heads to National Tournament

May 8, 2012

The Brenau tennis team will be making it's 12th appearance at the NAIA National Tennis Tournament when they arrive on site next week. The Golden Tigers are one of only two teams that have won more than one national championship. Auburn University- Montgomery has claimed 11 titles. Brenau owns a 22-10 overall championship record and received at-large bid #3 to qualify for this year's tournament. The tournament will be held in Mobile, AL on May 15-19. The bracket and pairings will be announced at a later time.

By Jake Knabel, NAIA Communications & Sports Information Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the 24 qualifying teams for the 2012NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship, held May 15-19 in Mobile, Ala. The bracket and pairings for the 32nd annual event will be announced Tuesday by 5p.m. CDT.

The 24-team field includes 12 squads who earned an automatic berth by winning their respective conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournaments, 10at-large selections and one host berth. The additional qualifier, Fresno Pacific (Calif.), received an automatic bid by winning the Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season championship. The 10 at-large selections were determined by the final NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Monday. Spring Hill (Ala.), of the Southern States Athletic Conference, received the host berth.

Top-ranked Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) leads all qualifiers with 11 national championships all-time, including seven of the last eight and eight since the team head-to-head format began in 2000. Brenau (Ga.), which owns two national titles, and Fresno Pacific, a one-time team champion, are the only other two qualifiers who hold national championships. Auburn Montgomery's 45-3record in championship play also tops the field.

Ten schools will be appearing at the National Championships for at least the10th time in school history, led by the 13 trips each made by Auburn Montgomery, Azusa Pacific and Indiana Wesleyan. Seventeen of the 24 qualifiers return to the championships after appearing last season.

On the other hand, two squads will make their first-ever appearances at the National Championships: Northwestern Ohio and Robert Morris (Ill.) A total of seven teams will be seeking their first wins on the National Championship stage.

The GSAC leads all conferences with six members in the field of 24. The Southern States Athletic Conference is next with five National Championship qualifiers.