Women's Tennis Earns No. 6 Seed For BIG EAST Championship

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton women's tennis team earned the No. 6 seed for the 2021 BIG EAST Tennis Championship Presented by JEEP in Cayce, South Carolina, the league announced on Monday afternoon. The Bluejays will open tournament play on Thursday at 8 a.m. (Central) against 11th-seeded Providence.

The Bluejays wrapped up their regular-season with a 7-0 victory over Doane on Saturday and improved their overall record to 9-5. Creighton started the season 6-2, which included a victory against Marquette and a close 4-3 loss to DePaul that came down to the final match of the day. The Blue Demons earned the No. 2 seed for this week's event.

The Friars enter the postseason 1-9 overall and 0-3 against BIG EAST foes.

Sarah Wilcox leads Creighton with eight singles victories. The junior owns an 8-5 record entering postseason play, including an 8-4 mark at the No. 2 position.

Wilcox has also combined with Kate Krueger for a team-best seven doubles wins. The No. 1 doubles pair holds a 7-5 win-loss tally heading into the week.

Krueger owns a 7-5 singles record, including six wins at the No. 1 singles slot. Joanna Nowakowska and Malvika Shukla also hold seven singles wins this season, while primarily playing at near the bottom of half of the lineup (Nowakoswka 7-5, Shukla 7-0).

"We are always excited to compete in such a great conference tournament, but I believe this year we feel even more fortunate," head coach Tom Lilly said. "This team has handled adversity well and will need to do it again this week. I know we will give it all we have while we are in South Carolina."

The BIG EAST was forced to cancel the 2020 Tennis Championship because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Creighton finished 1-1 at the 2019 BIG EAST Tennis Championship. The Bluejays earned the No. 7 seed before knocking off Providence in the first round, 4-0, and falling in the quarterfinals to No. 2 seed DePaul, 4-0.

Creighton owns three consecutive wins against Providence at the BIG EAST Championship (2016, 2018, 2019). Thursday will mark the fifth time in eight seasons that the Bluejays and Friars will meet in the first round of the conference tournament. Creighton is 7-4 all-time against Providence, including a 6-1 win last season in Orlando.

Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center will host the BIG EAST championship for the fifth consecutive year. The facility offers 30 lighted world-class courts with a championship-sized stadium court that has a viewing capacity of approximately 500 spectators. There are seven dedicated 38 foot courts for 8 & Under Tennis. Courts are complete with a small central gazebo, iced water coolers and electrical outlets on every court for ball-machine use.

Seeds for the championships were determined by a committee that reviews each team's regular-season schedule, ITA rankings, results against BIG EAST and common non-conference opponents and wins/losses against ranked foes.

The Men's and Women's Championship matches will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) Presented by SoFi on YouTube and FloSports. John Fanta and Joe Gentry will host whip-around coverage from the six championship courts. The Men's Championship broadcast begins at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, and the Women's Championship coverage starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Women's Tennis Earns No. 6 Seed For BIG EAST Championship

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Players Mentioned

Kate Krueger

Joanna Nowakowska

Malvika Shukla

Sarah Wilcox