KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (May 3, 2024) – The No. 65 ETSU women's tennis team will face off against No. 21 Duke in its first-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Knoxville. First serve between the Buccaneers and Blue Devils is set for 10 a.m.
 
The Bucs captured the SoCon's automatic bid for second straight season by winning the conference tournament late last month. This will mark the seventh appearance all-time for the Bucs in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 2024 season has been an historic one for the Bucs. ETSU, which is guided by SoCon Coach of the Year Ricky Rojas, has been ranked nationally for four consecutive weeks and has reached as high as No. 60 in ITA National Polls this season. The Bucs had six All-SoCon players in 2024, including Sofia Markova who took home SoCon Player of the Year honors. Fernanda Carvajal was named the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and took home the Pinnacle Award as well. The Pinnacle Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team. Carvajal has a 3.60 GPA and is a psychology major at ETSU.
 
Duke will come to Knoxville on Saturday sporting an overall record of 15-9 overall. All nine of Duke's losses have come against ranked foes in 2024. Saturday will mark just the second time that the Bucs and Blue Devils have matched up. The first occurred in the 2014 NCAA Tournament where Duke came away with a 4-0 win.
 
The Bucs will be looking for their first NCAA Tournament victory in school history on Saturday. Should the Bucs advance past the Blue Devils, they will play the winner of No. 16 Tennessee and Murray State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the round of 32.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.