The State University of New York at New Paltz tennis team has waited since October to have the opportunity to contend for a National Championship, and on Friday, at Bowdoin University in Brunswick, Maine, the Hawks will finally get that chance.

Competing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season, SUNY New Paltz will take on Husson University in the first round Friday, starting at 10:30 a.m.

"We're really excited honestly. We've been waiting since we won SUNYAC's in the fall and I know how much our senior captain [Lindsay Haley] is looking forward to ending off her season with hopefully getting as far as we can in the tournament," said Hawks freshman Laura Koob. "We've been working hard all year for this, so we are really looking forward to it."
SUNY New Paltz ended the regular season at a perfect, 17-0 after earning consecutive wins in the spring over William Smith College, Springfield College, Goucher College, George Fox University, Ithaca College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Manhattanville College, Ramapo College and Union College. The competition has prepared them for a tough tournament. MIT, the hosting Polar Bears, Nichols College and Colby-Sawyer College all join the Hawks in their bracket.

If SUNY New Paltz gets passed the Eagles Friday – a team coming off just their first loss of the season against Colby College, before winning the North Atlantic Conference Championship -- then it will face the Engineers, who earned a first round bye. MIT ended its season 16-3 overall and 8-0 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), bringing home a conference title after routing Babson College, 5-0 in the championship May 4.

The infusion of talented newcomers, led by Koob and SUNYAC Player of the Year Trinity Chow gave the Hawks the boost needed to finally clinch a SUNYAC Championship and an automatic berth into the tournament back in October after placing second in the conference for the last seven seasons. Their depth, however, one-through-six has been their biggest strength. Courtney Koran at fifth singles is undefeated on the year, while lone senior Lindsay Haley only has one loss at sixth singles, which came early in the spring against Williams Smith. Chow is undefeated at first singles, while Koob has lost just once at second singles, also coming against the Herons.

"We focus on just working hard, getting our strokes right, our shot placement, as well as we just have fun and I think that's very important to our team bonding, because if we don't work well off the court then we're not going to work well on the court," Koob said.

SUNY New Paltz earned a first round win the last time it entered the big dance, beating Simmons College, 5-3, but fell in round two to No. 1 nationally ranked Amherst College. The Hawks have never won two games in the NCAA Tournament in program history, but 2019 could be the year they buck that trend. Hawks coach Rob Bruley in his 21-year tenure admitted this 2019 squad is by far the most talented he has ever boasted.

"Honestly, what makes this team special is that we're like family off of the court and going into this tournament really means something to all of us," Koob said. "We're all in different grades, but we only have one season, but she really leads us and she's the glue to our team. We're just extremely excited to make our name known and stand out in the tournament."

To follow along SUNY New Paltz's National Championship run you can watch live by clicking here, or follow live stats, here.

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