Nicholasville, Ky. – The Transylvania women's tennis team begins defense of its conference tournament title this weekend in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championships at Top Seed Tennis Club.

After winning the most recent HCAC women's tennis championship in the fall of 2019 and having their eventual procession to the 2020 NCAA Championships prevented by the pandemic, the Pioneers have put together a fabulous encore season, going a perfect 5-0 in HCAC regular season play to clinch the No. 1 seed in this weekend's tournament which is held at the Pioneers' home venue.

Having had traditional regular season conference play in the fall pushed back to the spring, the Pioneers enter the "2020" edition of the springtime conference championships as the defending conference tournament champion. As the No. 3 seed in the fall 2019 HCAC Championships, Transylvania defeated higher seeded Hanover and Anderson to claim the conference crown, its first in eight seasons.

The Pioneers earned a first-round bye in this season's conference championships and will serve up tournament play beginning with the HCAC semifinals on Saturday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. versus the winner of the first-round match between No. 4 seed Hanover and No. 5 seed Franklin. Hanover faces Franklin in the first round on Wednesday, May 5 in Hanover, Indiana.

The winner of the semifinals advances to Sunday's 10:00 a.m. championship match. The HCAC conference tournament champion will be awarded the conference's automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships.

Guided by second-year head coach Bill Carey, the Pioneers carry a 7-1 overall record into this weekend's conference postseason action. Transylvania went 15-6 overall in the 2019-20 season and 6-2 in conference play before winning three straight matches to capture the HCAC Championship.

Transylvania is led by two-time All-Conference winners, junior Porsche Robinson and Jessica Burton. Robinson is 5-0 at No. 1 singles in conference play this season and 8-0 in No. 1 singles overall. Burton is 7-1 in No. 2 singles competition this season and 4-1 in No. 2 singles play.  Both Burton and Robinson have combined to go 8-0 overall in No. 1 doubles play this season and have only conceded nine games in HCAC doubles play this season.

For more information on this weekend's conference championships, visit HeartlandConf.org.

For more on Transylvania women's tennis, follow @TransyWTennis on Twitter

2020 HCAC Women's Tennis Championships Schedule

Saturday, May 8 – HCAC Semifinals

11 AM – #1 Transy vs. #4 Hanover/#5 Franklin

12:30 PM - #2 Rose-Hulman vs. #3 Anderson / #6 Manchester

Sunday, May 9 – HCAC Championship Match

10 AM – Semifinal Winner 1 vs. Semifinal Winner 2