INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April 27, 2026) – A little over a week after winning the Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament Championship, the ETSU women's tennis team found out its NCAA Tournament destination and opponent on Monday. The Bucs, who will be making their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history, will face off against Clemson in an opening round match on Friday from Nashville, Tennessee. First serve for that match is scheduled for 2 p.m. eastern time.
The Buccaneers (16-7, 6-1 SoCon) clinched the SoCon's automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Tournament thanks to three straight victories in the SoCon Women's Tennis Tournament. ETSU knocked off No. 7 Mercer (4-0), No. 3 Chattanooga (4-2) and top-seeded Furman (4-1) en route to its fourth SoCon Tournament title.
Following ETSU's tournament win,
Mariangel Estrella was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after going undefeated during the tournament.
Niyati Kukreti was awarded the Pinnacle Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team. Kukreti is majoring in Kinesiology at ETSU and currently boasts a 4.0 GPA.
The Bucs had several highlights during the 2026 campaign including wins over Virginia Tech and nationally-ranked foes Liberty and Furman. ETSU also had four players earn All-SoCon honors in
Alessandra Caceres (First Team Singles & Doubles),
Ksenija Rage (First Team Singles & Second Team Doubles),
Julia Millan (Second Team Singles & Doubles), and
Mariangel Estrella (First Team Doubles & All-Freshman).
Clemson will bring a record of 17-8 into Nashville on Friday. The Tigers reached as high as No. 15 in the ITA National Team Rankings this season but came in at No. 24 in the Rankings unveiled last Tuesday. This will be the second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Clemson, which marks the first time they've made the field of 64 in back-to-back years since a stretch between 2002-18.
The Bucs, who have never won a match in the NCAA Tournament, would match up against winner of a match between Vanderbilt and Xavier should they knock off the Tigers. First serve for that second round match is set for 5 p.m. eastern time on Saturday.
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.
