INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (pacathletics.org) - On Monday afternoon, the Allegheny College tennis teams learned where they'll be traveling this weekend, as the NCAA tennis committees released regional sites and first-round matches for the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Championships.

This year, Allegheny won the men's and women's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournaments and earned both automatic-qualifying bids. Although individuals from Allegheny have played in the NCAA Championships in the past, the 2022-23 academic year marks the first time in school history that the Gators have qualified as a team.

On the men's side, Allegheny is among 44 teams competing for a national championship. The Gators will head to Towson, Maryland, for the regional rounds, which will be hosted by Johns Hopkins University and played at Goucher College's Schroedl Tennis Center. On Friday, May 5, the Gators begin tournament play with a match against Christopher Newport University. The Captains (10-8), who were a Pool C at-large selection, are making their third appearance in the NCAA tournament and first since 2017. Friday's winner will advance to face No. 4 nationally-ranked Middlebury College (15-3) on Saturday.

The Gator men (17-4) captured the PAC title, their first since 1982 prior to leaving for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), last Saturday with a 5-1 victory over Grove City College. The last PAC team to win an NCAA Tournament match was Grove City, who defeated Roger Williams University 5-0 in the opening round of the 2021 Regionals. The Wolverines would drop their second round match to Brandeis University.

Allegheny is one of 49 teams vying for a national title in the women's tournament. The Gators have to travel quite a distance to face a nearby opponent in the first round. The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) champion, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (18-1), will face the Blue and Gold at Wesleyan University's John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts in Middletown, Connecticut, on Friday at 10:00 a.m. The winner between the Gators and the Bobcats will square off with No. 5-ranked Wesleyan (17-1) on Saturday.

Allegheny and Pitt-Greensburg are located two hours and just under 123 miles apart, but the teams will be traveling 489.5 miles from Meadville and 443 miles from Greensburg to Wesleyan's campus for their NCAA opener. Pitt-Greensburg (18-1) lost their only match this year in their season opener way back in the fall on Aug. 31 to PAC opponent Franciscan University 7-2, but have since rolled off 18 straight wins, including wins over PAC schools Geneva College (9-0) and Grove City College (7-2) this spring.

The automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament was earned by Allegheny with a 5-4 victory over Franciscan in the PAC Tournament Championship in the fall on Oct. 15. The Gators (18-4) are looking to be the first PAC women's team to win an NCAA Tournament match since Westminster defeated Hanover College 5-1 in the first round of the 2016 Championships. Prior to that, the last PAC team to claim an NCAA Tournament win was Grove City, who scored a 5-1 win over Webster University in the 2010 Regionals.

Following the three regional rounds this weekend, the final eight teams will advance to the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus in Orlando, Florida, for the Division III Championship quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals from May 13-16.

Contributed by Allegheny Athletic Communications