INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—University of Hawai'i women's tennis player
Petra Melounova has qualified to compete in the 2019 NCAA Division I Singles Championship for a program-record third-straight season. Melounova was the highest ranked player in the Big West and earned an automatic bid into the championship tournament, which will be held from May 20-25 and hosted by UCF at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
It is the fifth time in the last six years that a Rainbow Wahine player has earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships and representing the Big West. She and former Rainbow Wahine
Cindy Nguyen are the only two to represent Hawai'i in the tournament. Nguyen qualified for the tourney in both 2014 and '15, while Melounova has qualified on 2017, '18, and '19.
As a freshman, Melounova became the first UH player to ever earn a win in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting 16th-ranked Rachel Pierson (Texas A&M) in the opening round before falling in the second round to LSU's Joana Valle Costa. Last season, Melounova, who was ranked at No. 73 at the time, fell to No. 21 Gabriela Talaba (Texas Tech) in three sets.
Melounova is currently ranked No. 60 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. This season, she played all her matches at No. 1 and led the Rainbow Wahine with a 13-2 dual match record. She won 15 of her last 16 overall singles matches—including her last seven straight. Melounova upset three ranked players this season—No. 34 Salma Ewing (#32 USC), No. 30 Julia Rosenqvist (#15 California), and No. 86 Maddie Pothoff (Santa Clara)
Melounova, who is a junior from Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, is one of 15 automatic qualifiers that will compete against 49 at-large selections. Melounova is the only player from the Big West to be competing in this year's tournament.
Melounova gives the Big West a representative in the singles championship for the eighth straight year, and 12th time in the last 14 years.
Automatic qualifiers (15) listed alphabetically by conference
| American Athletic |
Valeriya Zeleva |
UCF |
| Atlantic 10 |
Paola Delgado |
VCU |
| Atlantic Coast |
Estela Perez-Somarriba |
Miami (Florida) |
| Big 12 |
Anastasia Rychagova |
Kansas |
| Big South |
Laruen Proctor |
Winthrop |
| Big Ten |
Kate Fahey |
Michigan |
| Big West |
Petra Melounova |
Hawai'i |
| Conference USA |
Michaela Haet |
Rice |
| Ivy League |
Iuliia Bryzgalova |
Pennsylvania |
| Mountain West |
Aiwen Zhu |
UNLV |
| Pac-12 |
Michaela Gordon |
Stanford |
| SEC |
Ingrid Gamarra Martins |
South Carolina |
| Southern |
Katarina Kozarov |
Furman |
| Summit League |
Bianca Mok |
Denver |
| West Coast |
Sophie Whittle |
Gonzaga |
|
|
|
At-Large selections (49)
| Silvia Ambrosio |
Purdue |
| Emily Arbuthnott |
Stanford |
| Michaela Bayerlova |
Washington State |
| Elysia Bolton |
UCLA |
| Isabella Boulais |
Ohio State |
| Kelly Chen |
Duke |
| Meible Chi |
Duke |
| Paige Cline |
South Carolina |
| Solymar Colling |
San Diego |
| Fernanda Contreras |
Vanderbilt |
| Sara Daavettila |
North Carolina |
| Andie Daniell |
Alabama |
| Emma Davis |
Wake Forest |
| Ellie Douglas |
TCU |
| Salma Ewing |
USC |
| Jessica Failla |
Pepperdine |
| Stacey Fung |
Washington |
| Marta Gonzalez |
Georgia |
| Alexa Graham |
North Carolina |
| Petra Granic |
Texas |
| Clarissa Hand |
Northwestern |
| Jada Hart |
UCLA |
| Olivia Hauger |
California |
| Ida Jalskog |
Florida |
| Katarina Jokic |
Georgia |
| Maenna Jones |
North Carolina |
| Kenya Jones |
Georgia Tech |
| Asuka Kawai |
Illinois |
| Meghan Kelley |
Virginia |
| McCartney Kessler |
Florida |
| Gabriela Knutson |
Syracuse |
| Oleksandra Korashvili |
Oklahoma |
| Ashley Lahey |
Pepperdine |
| Chiara Lommer |
MIchigan |
| Melissa Lord |
Stanford |
| Felicity Maltby |
Texas Tech |
| Maria Mateas |
Duke |
| Justina Mikulskyte |
Kentucky |
| Brienne Minor |
Michigan |
| Cameron Morra |
North Carolina |
| Eden Richardson |
LSU |
| Anna Rogers |
NC State |
| Christina Rosca |
Vanderbilt |
| Julia Rosenqvist |
California |
| Katarina Stresnakova |
Oklahoma State |
| Carla Touly |
Florida State |
| Katya Townsend |
Texas A&M |
| Bianca Turati |
Texas |
| Anna Turati |
Texas |
RECENT BIG WEST PLAYERS IN NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
| 2019 |
Petra Melounova, Hawai'i |
| 2018 |
Petra Melounova, Hawai'i |
| 2017 |
Petra Melounova, Hawai'i |
| 2016 |
Maeba Razakasoa, Long Beach State |
| 2015 |
Cindy Nguyen, Hawai'i |
| 2014 |
Cindy Nguyen, Hawai'i |
| 2013 |
Kristina Smith, UC Irvine |
| 2012 |
Anais Dallara, Long Beach State |
| 2010 |
Jenifer Widjaja, Pacific |
| 2009 |
Jenifer Widjaja, Pacific |
| 2008 |
Hanaah Grady, Long Beach State |
| 2006 |
Hanaah Grady, Long Beach State |
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