NCAA WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS : Big Four Challenged in Event at Pepperdine

Four teams have dominated women’s college tennis in recent years, and they are the top contenders again this year in the team portion of the NCAA tournament, which begins today at Pepperdine. Florida is top-seeded, followed by Texas, Stanford and Georgia. Those teams account for 11 titles in the tournament’s 13-year history.

Another contender is UCLA, which has the nation’s top two singles players, Jane Chi and Keri Phebus. The sixth-ranked Bruins (14-8) play ninth-ranked Wake Forest (21-4) today at 3 p.m.

Florida (24-2), which won the NCAA title in 1992, will play Saturday at noon against the winner of a match between Tennessee (16-7) and Louisiana State (16-7).

Texas (22-3), which won the team title in 1993, is led by the nation’s third-ranked player, Kelly Pace. The Longhorns will play Saturday at noon against the winner of a match between San Diego (16-7) and Indiana (13-6).

Stanford (20-2), the dominating team in women’s tennis with eight team titles, will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of a match between Vanderbilt (15-7) and Pepperdine (14-9).

Georgia, the defending national champion, is led by the top-ranked doubles team of Stacy Sheppard and Tina Samara. The Bulldogs will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of a match between South Carolina (21-5) and Brigham Young (15-7).

USC is the only other school to have won the NCAA team title, in 1983 and 1985. The Trojans (8-13), ranked No. 20, will play 10th-ranked Arizona State (14-8) Saturday at 9 a.m.

The team final will be played Tuesday. The 64-draw singles tournament will begin Wednesday, and the 32-draw doubles tournament will begin Thursday.