The Quinnipiac women's tennis team has won the past five Northeast Conference championships.

In each of the last two years, the decisive match was won by Greater Latrobe High School graduate Mary Wilson.

She has welcomed the pressure.

"Everybody on a team has their part to do," Wilson said. "To be honest, I have told my coach I'd rather it'd be me out there for that last match than anybody else because I can be calm when I need to be."

Wilson, a sophomore, beat Long Island's Selma Babic at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-3, on April 20 to clinch an NCAA tournament berth for the Bobcats.

Before the match, Quinnipiac coach Mike Quitko was confident Wilson would deliver.

"She's a tough kid," he said. "If she's taking the last shot for us, I know we're in good shape."

Quinnipiac will play Miami (Fla.) in a first-round match on May 9 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Quinnipiac lost to nationally ranked UCLA in last year's tournament. Against the Bruins, Wilson lost her doubles match, and had her singles match halted. She said she was looking forward to another trip to the national tournament.

"It was a lot fun to go play a team like UCLA," she said. "You're playing tennis on a whole different level when you face a [nationally ranked] team. It's a completely different level because the players are so good."

And Wilson's game appears to be ready for the competition. Her victory over Babic improved her record to 6-4 in singles play during the spring season. But after struggling through a challenging early schedule, Wilson has lost just once in the past two months.

"Mary has done very well at No. 1," Quitko said. "There's value at every position, but players tend to look at those in front of them in the lineup. I've been very happy with her performance."

Wilson said the early-spring schedule -- which included matches against Ivy League schools Cornell, Dartmouth, and Brown -- proved to be a good tune-up for NEC competition.

"It helps my game to play competition at a higher level," she said. "Our coach gives us a tough schedule. But because of that, we're playing at a higher level than most of the others schools in the NEC. Plus, it's nice to go to a place like Brown, where I have friends. It's a lot of fun to do that kind of traveling."

As a freshman, playing first at No. 3, then No. 2 singles, Wilson ended the year on a similar note, winning nine of her last 10 matches heading into the NCAA tournament.

That streak included a 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 win over Long Island's Ashley Harvey that clinched the conference championship for the Bobcats.

Wilson was named first-team All-NEC in both singles and doubles play as a freshman and also was awarded the team's Most Valuable Player Award.

She then made the move to No. 1 singles.

"I wasn't sure if she would get [to No. 1 as a sophomore], but I knew she would contend," Quitko said.

Wilson said she was surprised it happened so quickly.

"The fall of my freshmen year, I was supposed to come in and play at No. 3 for the team," Wilson said. "Then, I started beating people and moved up to No. 2, in front of a senior [Gabby Pasternak], who had the No. 1 spot.

"I don't even think the coaches realize how I was going to pan out at the college level. It's always good to be moving up and improving."

Looking ahead, Wilson -- who trains at the Fox Chapel Golf Club with coach Craig Perry -- isn't sure if her tennis career will continue past college. A political science and international business major, Wilson said she has aspirations to attend law school after graduating.

"Right now, college tennis is a lot of fun," she said. "I'm having a great time. It's been a great experience."