Maryland Faces Huskies Friday in NCAAs

May 12, 2011

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• No. 33 Maryland (13-9) is set to take on 28th-ranked Washington (12-10) at 10 a.m. Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terps are seeded No. 3 in the North Carolina bracket, while the Huskies, who are making their fourth-straight NCAA appearance, are third. The winner of Friday's match will face either UNC, which is the fourth overall seed in the tournament, or East Tennessee State on Saturday for a berth in the round of 16.

• The Terps, who reached as high as No. 24 in the nation, recently wrapped up one of their best regular seasons in the past decade. Maryland finished a perfect 10-0 in non-conference play while knocking off three ranked opponents. The 13 wins mark the first time the Terps have finished with double-digit victories since 2006. They also upset the No. 11 team in the country twice, downing Georgia Tech on April 1, and Virginia on March 20. The win over Virginia was the first over a top 15 foe since an upset of No. 12 Duke on April 10, 2005.

• Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar is having a stellar first season with the Terps. She is 30th in the latest ITA singles rankings, and sits at No. 26 in doubles with partner Jordaan Sanford. Sanchez-Quintanar has a 16-4 dual singles mark which includes five wins against ranked opponents. She earned 2011 all-league accolades, the first Terp honored since Marianne Baker in 2007.

• Five Terps (Sanchez-Quintanar, Sanford, Ana Belzunce, Welma Luus and Cristina Stancu) boast more than a .500 record in dual singles matches, giving the team a .600 winning percentage in spring singles. Maryland compiled an even better mark in dual doubles (.697), led by Sanchez-Quintanar and Sanford, who finished the regular season 18-4. The duo topped the nation's best doubles tandem at the time, upending Clemson's Josipa Bek and Keri Wong 8-5 on April 3. Maryland has fallen just twice all season when securing the doubles point.

• Second-year head coach Howard Joffe has helped lead the resurgence of the Maryland program. The Terrapins finished the season with six wins over ranked opponents after going four years without posting one win vs. a top-75 foe. The Terps' No. 24 ranking the week of March 22 was their highest since before ACC expansion.