The Coe College men's and women's tennis teams will be heading to St. Louis this week for the NCAA Tournament.

It is the second straight year both programs will be in St. Louis for the tournament. Both teams advanced to the national tournament after winning Iowa Conference titles.

The Coe women (19-5) will face Grinnell (16-7) on Thursday. The Coe men (24-7) will meet Earlham (16-6) in the first round Friday.

The women earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals by defeating Luther two weeks ago in the IIAC Automatic Qualifier Tournament. This is the fifth appearance in the NCAA's for the Kohawks as they also qualified in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013. Coe is 4-4 all-time in the tournament and has never lost a first-round match.

The Coe women defeated Grinnell, 5-4, April 19 in the regular-season finale. The Pioneers earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Midwest Conference Championship. Coe is ranked 14th in the ITA Central Region, while Grinnell is ranked 15th.

Washington University in St. Louis (17-5), ranked ninth in the country and first in the region, will await the winner on Friday in the winner's tournament. On the other side of the women's bracket, Edgewood (19-8) will face 25th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (20-5). The winner will advance to take on 11th-ranked DePauw (18-4). The regional final is set for Saturday.

The Coe men's tennis team faced Earlham in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament as well. Coe is ranked eighth in the ITA Central Region, while Earlham is 10th.

The winner of Friday's match will face second-ranked Washington University of St. Louis (19-2) in the second round. Coe defeated Earlham, 5-3, last year before falling, 5-1, to Washington University in the second round.

On the other half of the bracket, Sewanee (14-6) will face Elmhurst (16-4) Friday, with the winner taking on 13th-ranked Whitman (19-4) Saturday. The men's regional final is scheduled for Sunday.

This will be the 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Kohawks (1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2013). Coe is 4-9 all-time (.308) in the NCAA Tournament. Coe owns a 2-1 record this year against teams in the NCAA Tournament, as they defeated Grinnell 8-1 and Elmhurst 9-0.