CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana women's tennis team will open play at the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday, facing defending league champion Texas Arlington at 9:30 a.m. in first round action at the HEB Tennis Center.

The Lady Lions (8-13, 4-7 Southland) enter the tournament as the seventh seed. The second-seeded Lady Mavs (10-6, 10-1 Southland) will be looking to repeat as Southland Conference Tournament champions and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

Should the Lady Lions pull the upset, they will advance to Saturday's semifinal at 9:30 a.m. to face third-seeded Texas State and sixth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The semifinals winners meet in Sunday's final at 12 p.m. with the winner earning a berth in the NCAA Championships. Southeastern has previously won titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Southeastern is returning to the postseason after a one-year absence. The Lady Lions are back in the tournament largely due to their success at the top half of the singles draw. Sophomore Morgane Dadot (14-6, 7-4 Southland), sophomore Audrey Chelini (12-9, 7-4 Southland) and freshman Camille Pilon (11-9, 5-6 Southland) have excelled at the No. 1-3 positions.

Freshman Nina Schmied (6-14, 2-8 Southland), freshman Isabel Brito (5-11, 3-4 Southland) and sophomore Annika Hanke (6-8, 2-5 Southland) round out the Lady Lion singles lineup. In doubles play, Hanke and sophomore Mia Hagiu (9-10, 5-4 Southland) have the team's best mark, playing the majority of their matches at No. 3.

At No. 1, Chelini and Pilon (3-6, 2-4 Southland) represent the Lady Lions, while Dadot and Schmied (2-7, 1-4 Southland) have teamed at No. 2. Southeastern is 7-0 when winning the doubles point.

UT Arlington was well represented on the All-Southland Conference teams that were released on Wednesday. Junior Daiana Negreanu (9-3, 9-0 Southland) was a first team pick at No. 5, while sophomore Maria Martinez-Romero (12-3, 10-1 Southland) was a second team selection at No. 4. In doubles play, Martinez-Romero and junior Nikola Matovikova (10-2, 9-0 Southland) were the second team No. 3 doubles team.

Southeastern will be looking to avenge a 6-1 loss to the Lady Mavs back on Feb. 27 in Arlington. The Lady Lions' lone point came at No. 1 singles, where Chelini came back from a set down to defeat sophomore Katarina Micochova.

2010 Southland Conference Women's Tennis Tournament
April 23-25, 2010
HEB Tennis Center – Corpus Christi, Texas

First Round – Friday, April 23
Match 1 – No. 3 Texas State vs. No. 6 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 9:30 a.m.
Match 2 – No. 2 UT Arlington vs. No. 7 Southeastern Louisiana, 9:30 a.m.
Match 3 – No. 4 Lamar vs. No. 5 Sam Houston State, 12 p.m.
Match 4 – No. 1 Northwestern State vs. No. 8 Stephen F. Austin, 12 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday, April 24
Match 5 – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 9:30 a.m.
Match 6 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 9:30 a.m.

Finals – Sunday, April 25
Match 7 – Semifinal winners, 12 p.m. – Winner earns berth in NCAA Championships