WACO, Texas - The 20th-ranked and second-seeded Baylor women's team will open its NCAA Championship run by facing No. 39 and third-seeded San Diego State on Friday at 11 a.m. in Evanston, Ill.

 

Notables

• Baylor is making its ninth consecutive NCAA appearance and the 16th trip overall in program history. BU has been to the Round of 16 in each of the last eight seasons.

 

• This season, the Lady Bears are 16-14 after losing to Oklahoma State in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Championships. Baylor was the Big 12 regular season champion for the ninth time in 2013 with an 8-1 mark.

 

• Baylor is currently ranked No. 20 with one ranked singles player, No. 10 Ema Burgic, and one ranked doubles tandem, Burgic and Victoria Kisialeva at No. 4.

 

• Baylor is 10-5 in the first round of NCAA play all-time and 8-1 under head coach Joey Scrivano. BU is traveling for first and second round action for the first time since 2005.

 

• Individually, Baylor's 10th-ranked Burgic tallied a 23-5 dual-match record in the top of the lineup in singles action. Burgic also enters the tournament on a 15-match win streak.

 

• The Lady Bears opened the season just 4-10, before closing the year out on a 12-4 run. During that ending stretch, BU won nine consecutive matches.

 

• During the season, Baylor compiled a 9-13 mark vs. ranked opponents, while going a perfect 6-0 versus unranked teams. All of BU's losses came against top-50 opponents.

 

• Burgic claimed three Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season, winning the award on March 11, April 9, and April 23. She is one of three BU players to accomplish that feat.    • Freshman Kiah Generette completed the regular season with a 7-3 record over her last 10 matches. Generette notched an 8-1 mark in conference action, the second best on the squad.

 

• Two Baylor student-athletes were named to the All-Academic Big 12 first team, Burgic and Megan Horter. Burgic was also named the Big 12's Player of the Year, while Scrivano won his fourth Coach of the Year honor.

 

Quotes - Head coach Joey Scrivano

On facing San Diego State...

"San Diego State is coming off of a great season, and we know that they're very capable of beating us. We have to be prepared to play. At the end of the day, it's all about what we do on the court. If our hearts and minds are in the right place, then I like our chances against anybody. Ultimately, we know San Diego State is going to present a very difficult challenge for us. At the end of the day, it's just about us taking care of our mindset and discipline."

 

On preparing for their upcoming match...

"We had to take some time off to give our players a chance to recover and get physically, mentally, and emotionally ready for this next challenge. We've gradually been building back, and I like the way we're playing right now. I feel like we're starting to practice at that elite level again. Usually when we do that, good things happen."

 

On playing on the road...

"Personally, I love playing on the road because I feel like you're more focused. You have more time to prepare, and there's just less distractions on the road. I'm actually really looking forward to being in this position. It's been a long time for us to be in a situation like this, but I know from my past experiences that it's been really positive because you're completely focused. Ultimately, in the first two rounds, the pressure's not on us. The pressure is on Northwestern to come through this regional. That's a good position for us to be in. We're very capable, and the pressure is on the opponents. So, we're just going to go in there and take care of ourselves. Whatever comes out of it, we'll live with."

 

Follow @BaylorWTennis on Twitter for updates on the team all season.