May 23, 2006

Palo Alto, Calif. - The Thundering Herd tandem of Lynzee Kever and Kellie Schmitt found out Tuesday their first-round opponent in the 2006 NCAA Doubles Tournament is the duo of Laura Gordon and Riza Zalameda from UCLA.

The doubles portion of the tournament, being held at Stanford University, will now begin Thursday after rain forced the team tournament to be postponed, moving back the singles and doubles tournament.

The meeting between the Herd and Bruins will be a rematch of the 2004 NCAA Doubles final where the UCLA tandem of Daniela Bercek and Lauren Fisher defeated the Herd's Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh 6-4, 6-4 to claim the title, ending Marshall's Cinderella run.

In 2006, the Herd will look to begin its quest for the crown against the Bruins.

Gordon and Zalameda are ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA poll. Kever and Schmitt are ranked No. 56 and earned the automatic bid for Conference USA. The winner of Thursday's match will face the victor of Harvard/Florida on Friday.

Thursday's match time has not yet been determined. Herdzone.com will have the time as soon as it is made available. Complete coverage of the 2006 NCAA Championships can be found at NCAASports.com or gostanford.com.