Women's Tennis 5/4/2022 8:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma No. 1 Seed In Central Regional

INDIANAPOLIS – Central Oklahoma was selected as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship Central Regional, it was announced Tuesday night.

Central Oklahoma will host half of the six-team Central Regional at Edmond Center Court this weekend. Augustana (S.D.) was selected as the No. 2 seed and will host the other half of the regional. The two advancing teams from each regional will head to Altamonte Springs, Florida in two weeks for the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship Round of 16.

"We're excited to be the No. 1 seed and to be able to host the regional," first-year head women's tennis coach Joe Vann said. "It's a good thing to not have to travel for regionals and we're fortunate to be in this position. We look forward to a competitive regional."

Harding University and Missouri Western State University will meet up in the first round on Friday, May 6 at 10 a.m. Harding, of Searcy, Arkansas, is the No. 4 seed in the regional, and Missouri Western, of St. Joseph, Missouri, is the No. 5 seed.

UCO beat MWSU in the 2022 MIAA Women's Tennis Championship on Sunday to earn an automatic qualifier to the regional tournament.

The Bronchos are 20-1 this season. UCO's only loss came back in February against No. 1 ranked Barry University in the ITA Indoor national championship. UCO has won 14 in a row since then, including a perfect 8-0 record in conference.

The Bronchos won the MIAA regular season title and then swept their way through the MIAA postseason tournament, going 3-0 to win the title. UCO won all three matches 4-0.

The Bronchos are ranked No. 4 in the country heading into this week's regional tournaments. UCO has three individuals ranked in the ITA Singles Top 75 and two pairs of doubles squads ranked in the ITA Doubles Top 50.

Mae Canete (18-2) is ranked No. 3 in the country, Christine Canete (15-1) is ranked No. 8 in the country, and Adel-Byanu Abidullina (17-0) is ranked No. 27 in the country.

The Canete sisters also make up the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the nation. The duo from Los Angeles is 16-2 this season.

Abidullina, along with Tizia Brocks, is ranked No. 31 in the country and has a 18-1 record on the year.

Central Oklahoma will play the winner of Harding and Missouri Western Saturday at 10 a.m. at Edmond Center Court. The Bronchos are aiming to advance to nationals for the fourth time in the last five years. It would be the fourth straight trip with the NCAA not hosting the event in 2020.

UCO qualified for nationals in 2018 and made the Elite 8 that Spring. Central went to nationals in 2019 and was eliminated in the Round of 16. The Bronchos returned again in 2021 and made the national semifinals before being ousted by eventual champion Barry.

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Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Mae Canete: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Tizia Brocks: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Christine Canete: 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Mae Canete
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Tizia Brocks
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Christine Canete
: 5' 5"; Freshman