On the heels of its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship since 2012, Fairfield women's tennis will travel to Malibu to challenge #6 Pepperdine in the NCAA Championship First Round on Friday, May 3. First serve between the Stags and the Waves is set for 4 p.m. Eastern. The other side of the bracket will feature #16 California meeting Long Beach State.

Fairfield earned its fifth trip to the NCAA postseason with a 4-3 win over Quinnipiac this past Sunday to win the 2019 MAAC Championship. Jessica Pil ’20 was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship after winning the clinching singles match in both the semifinals and finals. The win for the Stags also snapped Quinnipiac's 54-match winning streak against MAAC foes – the Bobcats had never lost to MAAC competition since joining the conference in 2013-14. 

"I don't even know what to say about this team," said 2019 MAAC Coach of the Year Jeff Bricker on Sunday. "They've worked so hard all year, and to finish it with a MAAC Championship is special. They have guts and are fearless. What an unbelievable year!"

#6 nationally-ranked Pepperdine is 21-3 this season after an unblemished run to their seventh straight West Coast Conference Championship. The Waves reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last season after back-to-back trips to the National Quarterfinals in 2016 and 2017.