MORAGA, Calif. — Fresh off a 6-3 record in conference play, the Gaels will look to make a deep run in the WCC Championship this week in Southern California.

SCHEDULE
Saint Mary's is pegged as the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will be taking on No. 5 Loyola Marymount in the first round on Thursday at 10 a.m. The winner of the match will then play No. 1 Pepperdine on Friday and the championship round will conclude on Saturday.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 6 BYU will also square off on Thursday with the winner facing No. 2 San Diego the following day.

HOW TO FOLLOW
The tournament will take place on the campus of Claremont McKenna College at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

To watch live or follow live scores, fans can click here. For complete coverage of the event, fans can go to the tournament central page located here.

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The Lions went 11-9 this year and were 5-4 in conference play. LMU went 3-1 in their final four WCC matches with the lone loss coming to San Diego. Prior to the season, the Lions were projected to finish second in the conference.

Saint Mary's defeated LMU in the team's match-up earlier this season in Moraga, 4-2. The Gaels took the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 wins on Courts 1 and 2 before taking three more singles matches to win the contest. Mariia Kozyreva and Chloe Goyette each won in straight sets in their matches before Liesl Pieters anchored the win in a tough, three-set match on Court 5.

LAST YEAR'S TOURNAMENT
The Gaels advanced to the semifinals of the WCC Championship last season before falling to the eventual tournament champion, Pepperdine.

In the quarterfinals, fifth-seed Saint Mary's went head-to-head with four-seed BYU and came out on top in a grudge match, 4-3.

After dropping the doubles point, the Gaels fought back in singles play. Kareena Manji and Kozyreva picked up two, quick straight set wins to put SMC up 2-1 overall. Clementine Clement came from behind and battled into the third set of her match on Court 3 to earn a vital win, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. With the score tied 3-all, Vanessa Nommensen would clinch the match in the No. 6 slot by hammering her opponent 6-0 in the third set.

RANKED GAELS
Saint Mary's tandem of Mariia Kozyreva and Hind Abdelouahid is currently ranked No. 28 in the nation. The dynamic duo is 11-1 this year overall and 8-0 against the WCC. Kozyreva and Abdelouahid have not lost since Feb. 1 in the team's third match of the season.

Kozyreva is also ranked No. 113 among singles players in the country. The sophomore is 12-5 in solo play and has won seven of her past 10 matches.