EDMOND, Okla. — For the second season in a row, the Flagler College women's tennis team is one of eight Division II programs competing in the ITA DII National Women's Team Indoor Championship this weekend.
 
Before inclement weather swept through Oklahoma and the Southwest, the third annual tournament was set to begin on Friday; however, rain and ice made it difficult for teams to drive or fly in on time, moving first serve Saturday at 8 a.m. Luckily for the Saints' proactive thinking and administrative support, Flagler was able to fly in late Tuesday night before snowy conditions came down on Oklahoma City.
 
"We are excited to be competing at national indoors again," Flagler women's tennis head coach Rodrigo Puebla said. "It's an exciting time for our program and we are proud to represent our college. With the predicted weather coming through, I thought it was best to travel the night before our Wednesday morning flight and am thankful the administration supported the decision.

"Now, we have time to be fully rested and prepared for a strong weekend of tennis. I know the girls will be ready for this opportunity to continue our young season."
 
The nationally ninth-ranked, and eighth-seeded Saints (1-2) will begin their three-match schedule versus top-ranked, top-seeded Barry University in Saturday's second match, which is slated to begin inside the Edmond Tennis Center at noon (11 a.m. local time). The full schedule can be viewed above, while times and information about the participating teams can be found HERE.
 
The matchup will be a rematch from the Saints' season opener earlier in February, where the Buccaneers (5-0) were dominant in a 7-0 win. Flagler hopes to take that experience and put it forth in a competitive indoor match. In the second round, the Saints will face the winner/loser of West Alabama and West Florida as the rest of the field features the Peach Belt Conference foe Columbus State, host school University of Central Oklahoma, University of Indianapolis, and Nova Southeastern.
 
"Playing national indoors is always going to be a tough challenge for our team," Puebla said. "Facing the top teams in the country at one site is always a great opportunity and our team needs to embrace it. As we know, Barry University is going to be a great opening challenge. We played three ago, and we know how tough of an opponent they are going to be. Coach Avi Kigel leads an amazing program and our girls are looking forward to playing them again here to open national indoors!"
 
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