April 18, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn.- The brackets for the 2012 Conference USA Women’s Tennis Championships have been set, and the No. 5 seeded Marshall Thundering Herd will square-off with the No. 12 UTEP Miners in round one action on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

Hosted by Memphis at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center, the single-elimination tournament will span from the opening round on Thursday to the final matchup on Sunday morning. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane, ranked No. 26 in the nation in the latest ITA National Rankings, earned the No. 1 seed and a first round bye for the tournament, with the Rice Owls, Tulane Green Wave, and Memphis Tigers also earning first round byes as the 2, 3, and 4 seeds.

This will mark the first time in its C-USA history that the Thundering Herd has not earned a top-4 seed entering the Championships, meaning Marshall will have to win a total of four matches if it hopes to bring home the C-USA trophy. The Herd holds an overall 12-9 record this spring, a 1-1 record against C-USA opponents, and a 0-6 record against nationally ranked opposition.

Marshall last played UTEP in the quarterfinals of the 2008 C-USA Championships and came away 4-0 winners in the two schools’ only previous matchup to date. So far this spring, UTEP has only managed two wins in a 2-17 season.

For live stats during the match, a printable tournament bracket, and access to C-USA’s Tournament Central please click the links below.

Live Stats | Tournament Bracket | C-USA Tournament Central