NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – For the 10th consecutive season, the VCU Rams earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Tennis Championship, per a league announcement Monday. The championship gets underway Thursday, April 27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

Winner of eight of the last nine A-10 Championships, the Rams (7-12) lock down a first-round bye as the top seed in the tournament. Graduate student sisters Victoria and Anastasia Smirnova pace the group on the hardcourt, guiding the squad to a pair of 4-3 victories over Fordham and Davidson in two of the team's final three matches. The Rams will face the winner of the No. 8 George Mason / No. 9 Saint Louis matchup on Friday at 9:00 am.

Fordham (11-7) grabbed the No. 2 position and will also receive a bye, setting up a second-round match versus the winner between the No. 7 Rhode Island / No. 10 Duquesne on Friday at 11:30 am. The Rams have proven impressive throughout the month of April, faltering just once across six matches (4-3 loss at VCU, April 2) with three sweeps of Rhody, GW and Mason.

Massachusetts (11-6) slotted in at third overall for the final bye of the championship, and will face the victor of No. 6 Davidson and No. 11 Dayton on Friday at 11:30 am.

The opening slate of championship matches starts Thursday at 9:00 am with No. 4 Richmond (8-14) taking on No. 13 Saint Joseph's (7-11), No. 5 George Washington (8-10-1) battling No. 12 St. Bonaventure (9-14) and No. 8 George Mason (10-6) squaring off against No. 9 Saint Louis (17-6). The winners of the UR/SJU and GW/SBU matchups will face each other in Friday’s quarterfinals while the victor in the latter takes on top-seeded VCU, both matches set for 9:00 am.

In the second session of the first day, No. 6 Davidson (7-12) will match wits against No. 11 Dayton (8-12) for a chance to take on No. 3 overall UMass while No. 7 Rhode Island (6-16) and No. 10 Duquesne (9-8) battle for a shot at second-seeded Fordham. Both matches begin at 11:30 am.

The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at 9:00 am with the championship finale slated for Sunday morning at 10:00 am, the latter of which will broadcast live on ESPN+, the home for live Atlantic 10 action. All other rounds will be streamed through the USTA website's Playsight system, which allows viewers to select the court they wish to watch. Admission will be free for the A-10 Championships.

The winner of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Women’s Tennis Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.