ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop's women's tennis team will be making its 13^th NCAA Championship appearance in the past 15 years next week when it faces No. 3 seed Georgia, May 11 at 12 noon in the first round of the 2013 tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA.  
 
Winthrop is 18-9 heading into the NCAA tournament after sweeping through the Big South tournament two weeks ago to earn the league's automatic bid.  The Eagles compiled a 9-0 regular season conference record.
 
“Georgia is a very good team,” said Winthrop head coach Cid Carvalho.  “Our girls have played against a lot of the top teams in the nation and we competed really well, so we are looking forward to this match. We are going there to win.” 
 
Georgia comes into the NCAA tournament with a 21-3 record after finishing second to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship tournament. The Bulldogs went 12-1 in the SEC regular season and had a 10-1 record against nationally ranked teams. 
 
“It's exciting to be going to Georgia. We haven't played them in a while and none of our girls have played in one of the finest facilities in the country, so it is exciting for that reason too,” added Carvalho.
 
Winthrop was seeded the No. 4 in the four-team bracket while the other two schools in the first and second rounds in Athens will be Arizona State (seeded No. 3) against Oklahoma (No. 2). 

With seniors Yasmine Alkema and Giovanna Portiolli leading an experienced and tournament-tested squad, Winthrop will be looking for it's first-ever win in the NCAA tournament. Two other Eagles who have NCAA tournament experience are junior Andressa Garcia and sophomore Ekin Gunaysu.  The two other top seven players are freshmen Alice Garcia, Caitlin Cridland and Tijana Uzelac.
 
The Eagles are making their sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance and 13^th overall under Carvalho. “This says a lot for the girls.  They have played so well this year,” said Carvalho.  “They have had a lot of challenges, a lot of injuries to overcome and they overcame whatever was put in front of them.  So this is great.  They have fought so hard throughout the year to win the conference and make the NCAA.  Hopefully one of these days we will get the first win.”
 
Winthrop has produced a dynasty in women's tennis and earned the conference's automatic bid this year by knocking off Charleston Southern, 4-0, in the Big South Championship match.  Winthrop has now captured 17 regular season Big South women's tennis titles and 16 tournament championships in the past 20 years under the direction of head coach Cid Carvalho.