Kenyon women draw Otterbein in NCAA first round

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced Monday that the Kenyon College Owls will face the Otterbein University Cardinals in the first round of the 49-team 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship. The contest will be played Thursday on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Kenyon, making its 23rd appearance in the national tournament and its first since 2021, currently possesses an 18-4 overall record and a No. 32 national rank in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll. The Owls earned their spot on the national stage by winning the North Coast Athletic Conference's (NCAC) Tournament with a 5-3 victory over No. 19-ranked Denison University. That win came along with the conference's automatic bid.

Otterbein gained its spot by capturing the Ohio Athletic Conference's (OAC) automatic bid after a 5-3 win over Ohio Northern University in the OAC Tournament finale. The Cardinals are unranked nationally and will enter the NCAA Division III Championship with a 15-6 overall record.

Despite the proximity, Kenyon and Otterbein have not played against each other since 2014. Overall, the two teams have met eight times since 1985 with Kenyon winning all eight matches.

No. 18-ranked New York University awaits the winner of the Kenyon and Otterbein match. That second-round battle will take place Friday, also on the campus of Carnegie Mellon. New York, which plays in the University Athletic Association, earned an at-large bid into the tournament. The Violets are 11-2 and won the third-place match in the UAA postseason tournament.

On Saturday, the second-round winners will meet, again at Carnegie Mellon, for the chance to advance to the NCAA quarterfinal round at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, beginning on May 14. The possible third-round opponent could be North Central College (21-6), Hope College (13-6), or host and No. 14-ranked Carnegie Mellon (19-5). North Central and Hope will play in Thursday's first round with Carnegie Mellon awaiting the winner in Friday's second round.

All match times are still to be determined and will be announced as soon as information is available.

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