WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University will open the 2013 Northeast-10 Women's Tennis Championships on Tuesday against the Adelphi Panthers on Tuesday at 11:00 am in Garden City, N.Y. The Falcons enter the tournament as the fifth seed, and Adelphi is the fourth seed.

Bentley posted an 8-4 record in the NE-10 during the regular season and was 9-8 overall. They went 5-0 in the conference during the fall season and 3-4 in the spring. They finished one game behind 9-3 Adelphi, and one game ahead of 7-5 New Haven, the last team in the tournament.

The Panthers won the regular season meeting between the two teams 7-2 on March 12, which was played in Florida during spring break week. Freshman Catherine Gianino (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) and sophomore Melanie Scott (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) earned the points for Bentley, with Gianino winning in No. 2 singles over Michelle Gurda, and Scott winning in No. 3 singles over Joanna Haich.

Bentley, which is 11-12 all-time in the Northeast-10 Championships, is looking to advance past the first round for the first time since the 2009 Championships when they made it to the finals against Stonehill, but ultimately lost 5-1 after beating Le Moyne and Southern New Hampshire in the first two rounds. They've been defeated by Saint Michael's in the first round the last three seasons.

Freshman Ludmila Yamus (Deer Park, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East), who earlier Monday was one of five Bentley players named NE-10 All-Conference, has been the team's go-to player in No. 1 singles. She's gone 6-6 in NE-10 matches throughout the season, and has paired with sophomore Stephania Adondakis (Salt Lake City, Utah/Waterford) in No. 1 doubles this spring.

Veteran seniors Rachael Litton (Burlington, Ontario/Nelson) and Paulina Sotomayor (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) have contributed to the team's success in a big way this season as well. Litton went 6-4 in conference singles matches, and the two combined to form an effective doubles team, going 8-2 in the NE-10. That record earned them second team All-Conference honors in No. 2 doubles.

Two other freshmen next to Yamus saw promising starts to their careers. Gianino went 8-4 in conference singles matches during the season, while Brittani Hetyei (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township) went 7-5. They were also Bentley's No. 3 doubles team in the spring and earned third team All-Conference honors.

Scott also had a strong showing during the conference regular season, getting off to an 8-0 start in singles.

The other first round matchup will pit third seeded Saint Michael's against sixth seeded New Haven. Southern New Hampshire earned the tournament's top seed after going 12-0 and will meet the winner of the Bentley/Adelphi match. Stonehill is the second seed and will play the Saint Michael's/New Haven winner.