San Antonio - The Trinity women's tennis team will open the NCAA Division III Championship Friday with a first-round match against the University of Texas-Tyler at Claremont, California.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges will be the host site for the six-team regional event, which runs through Sunday. The winner of the Trinity/UT-Tyler match will take on Claremont in the second round on Saturday, with all playing times to be announced. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, also located in Claremont, meets the winner of Whitman (WA) College and the College of St. Scholastica (MN) in a second-round matchup Saturday. Sunday's third-round winner will advance to the national quarterfinals May 18 at Mason, Ohio. The semifinals, championship, and third-place match are scheduled for May 19-20, also at Mason.

Trinity is led by first-year Coach Gretchen Rush, who is a former Tiger All-American. This season, the Tigers have a 10-8 overall record, and stand at 9-2 against Division III competition. Included in the record is a 6-3 win over UT-Tyler last month. Trinity is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA postseason event, and 19th overall. The Tigers attained their slot in the nationals by winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship.

Last year, the Tigers defeated Otterbein (OH) University in the first round, and lost to the University of Mary Washington (VA) in the second. Trinity last made an appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2006, and the team finished fourth overall, falling in the third-place match to Claremont.