The Drake University women's tennis team is en route to Evanston, Ill. for the 2021 NCAA DI Tennis Tournament for the first time since the 2000 and just the third time in program history. The Bulldogs will begin tournament play on Friday at 12 p.m. against No. 10 seed Texas A&M. 

The Bulldogs hit their stride in the conference tournament, marching past No. 1 seed Illinois State on their way to a 4-0 sweep over Missouri State in the MVC Championship. This performance guaranteed Drake a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs now stand 11-8, led by Liza Petushkova and Daria Walczak, both who received a pair of MVC honors.

Texas A&M (19-7, 9-4 SEC) has compiled seven wins over ranked opponents this season. The Aggies entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and were able to reach the championship match, but they were swept 4-0 by a top-3 nation ranked Georgia team. Championship. This will be the Aggies 21-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They reached the round of 16 in the last NCAA Tournament in 2019.

These two teams have yet to play the history of Drake University women's tennis.

The winner of this first round matchup will go on to face the victor of Northwestern and Xavier. The second round will also be hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. on Saturday, May 10. Any matches past the second round will be played in Orlando, Fla. at the USTA National Campus.