NCAA Release

In most regards, St. Catherine University tennis senior Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) couldn't have had a much better collegiate tennis career. In just two seasons with the Wildcats, the senior powerhouse compiled a career record of 30-4 in singles and 26-6 in doubles.She never lost to a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent and flaunts a perfect 19-0 regular season conference record at No. 1 singles. Of her 30 wins in at singles, all but two came in straight-set decisions and only one was to an opponent that wasn't on a nationally-ranked team. But Bravo's career came to an abrupt end when the Wildcats' lost in the MIAC semifinal against Carleton College on May 1 when she had a one set lead over the Knights' top player.
 
Bravo now has the opportunity to extend her Wildcat career for a bit longer, though, as she was selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Individual Championship May 22-24 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges' in Claremont, California, the NCAA announced Wednesday.  

"This is a truly incredible achievement for Victoria," said Head Coach Ben Hagesth. "This is the first time in the history of our program we've ever had an individual selected for the NCAA Championships. Competing at this level is a great way to cap off a truly incredible collegiate career for a player who has had a huge impact on the success of our program. We're very proud and excited for Victoria."
 
Bravo – who was ranked No. 8 in last week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region Poll – was one of eight individuals from the region selected to participate in the 32-player singles tournament. The selection of teams and individuals for the championships are based on win-lost record, strength of schedule, and eligibility and availability of student-athletes .
 
The announcement of Bravo's selection came the same day that she and three of her Wildcat teammates earned All-MIAC honors in both singles and doubles play. This season, Bravo went a perfect 9-0 at the No. 1 spot in the singles lineup and 8-1 at No. 1 doubles against MIAC foes.
 
During her two-year stint with the Wildcats, Bravo has been ranked as the top MIAC individual player in the Central Region and was named the 2013 Central Region Player to Watch after helping the Wildcats to their first MIAC championship in program history.
 
Bravo's stellar play this season helped the Wildcats finish fourth in the conference standings and clinch their fourth-consecutive postseason berth. The Wildcats won their first MIAC playoff match in the four year span with a 5-4 decision over St. Olaf College in the quarterfinal.
 
The tournament will be hosted at the CMS Biszantz Family Tennis Center in California from May 22-24. Parts of the NCAA Championship will be webcast live on the NCAA website. For more information about the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships, log on to www.ncaa.com. 

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