Bradenton, Fla - State College of Florida Women's tennis team finished the region tournament in fourth place.  This put the Manatees one spot outside of the automatic qualifying positions.  April 29th, the Manatees received an "at-large" bid to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tennis Tournament in Tyler, Texas.

Ranked fifth in the nation, the Manatees are the highest ranked team not to receive an automatic bid to the tournament.  The field includes five of the six teams from Florida, three of which are ranked higher than the Manatees in the final NJCAA/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Poll.  Tyler Junior College is the only team outside of Florida ranked in the nation's top five.

Individually, four Manatees are ranked in the top fifty players in the nation.  Number one singles player, Zeba Jamal leads SCF and is ranked ninth.  Her older sister, Sara Jamal, is ranked twentieth and plays line two singles.  Sara Jamal's doubles partner, Sara Ramirez Goncalves is ranked twenty-eight.  Finally, freshman Bri Botsford comes in ranked forty-second. 

On the doubles side of things, two of SCF's doubles teams are ranked in the NJCAA/ITA top twenty-five.  The "Sara's", Sara Jamal and Sara Ramirez Goncalves, play line one doubles are ranked seventh in the nation.  SCF's line two doubles team of Zeba Jamal and Camille Portallier come in to the national tournament ranked thirteenth in the nation. 

The NJCAA National Tournament begins Sunday, May 5th in Tyler, Texas.  The tournament draws and results can be followed on the tournament website. Also, @TennisSCF and @SCFManatees Twitter pages will share periodic updates.