LAKE CHARLES-  McNeese women's tennis season isn't over- the 2026 Southland Conference regular season champs have accepted an invitation to play in the UTR Sports NIT Championship, May 5-8 in Rome, Ga.  All matches will be streamed on playsight.com for free with live scoring available on IOnCourt.

The NIT Championship is the National Invitational Tennis Championship. (Not to be confused with college basketball's NIT Tournament). The exclusive postseason tournament welcomes eight of the top men's and women's college tennis teams from across the country to compete for the NIT Championship titles. The tournament allows men's and women's teams to gain valuable postseason experience. The teams are selected to participate by the NIT Championship tournament committee, with the new UTR Sports College Team Rankings among the top criteria for consideration.

The NIT Championship is the second overall postseason appearance for the Cowgirls and the first since the 2018 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.

McNeese, the No. 6 seed in the tournament will face No. 3 seed Arkansas State at 1:30 p.m. (CT) next Tuesday, Mary 5.
The Cowgirls finished its regular season at the Southland Conference Championship, falling to eventual tournament champs Stephen F. Austin in the semifinals.

McNeese enters the UTR Sports NIT Championship with a school record 22 wins (22-2) and are coming off its first Southland regular season title since 2018.

Arkansas State, a member of the Sun Belt enters the tournament with a 13-9 overall record after being eliminated by Old Dominion in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference.

Past Women's Champions
2025: Washington State def. UNC Charlotte
2024: Tulsa def. Colorado
2023: TCU def. Stetson
 
TOURNAMENT SEEDS
No. 1 Kansas State (Big 12)
No. 2 North Texas (American Athletic)
No. 3 Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
No. 4 North Alabama (Atlantic Sun)
No. 5 Army (Patriot League)
No. 6 McNeese (Southland)
No. 7 College of Charleston (Coastal Athletic Association)
No. 8 Northern Illinois (Mid-American)
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All Times Eastern)
 

Date	Time	Match	Court	Matches
Tue, May 5	9:00 AM	Women's Quarterfinal	Ct. 11–16	1st seed vs. 8th seed | Match 1
Tue, May 5	NB 11:30 AM	Women's Quarterfinal	Ct. 11–16	4th seed vs. 5th seed | Match 4
Tue, May 5	NB 2:30 PM	Women's Quarterfinal	Ct. 11–16	Arkansas State vs. McNeese | Match 3
Tue, May 5	NB 4:30 PM	Women's Quarterfinal	Ct. 11–16	2nd seed vs. 7th seed | Match 2
Wed, May 6	9:00 AM	Women's Semifinal	Ct. 11–16	Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 4 | Semifinal 1
Wed, May 6	NB 11:30 AM	Women's Semifinal	Ct. 11–16	Winner Match 2 vs Winner Match 3 | Semifinal 2
Wed, May 6	NB 2:30 PM	Men's Quarterfinal	Ct. 11–16	4th seed vs. 5th seed | Match 1
Thu, May 7	9:00 AM	Women's Final	Ct. 11–16	Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2
Thu, May 7	NB 11:30 AM	Men's Semifinal	Ct. 11–16	2nd seed vs. 3rd seed | Semifinal 2
Thu, May 7	NB 2:30 PM	Men's Semifinal	Ct. 11–16	1st seed vs. Winner of Match 1 | Semifinal 1
Fri, May 8	9:00 AM	Men's Final	Ct. 11–16	Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2