Men's Tennis Hosts NCAA 1st and 2nd Rounds
5/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 4, 2010
WACO, Texas - For the seventh time in the last eight years the Baylor men's tennis team will host first and second round action of the NCAA Tennis Championship. Baylor, the tournament's No. 7 seed, will welcome Washington, Rice and Oral Roberts to Waco and the Baylor Tennis Center for play on Sat. and Sun., May 15-16.
Baylor's men's squad will be making its 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bears, currently 21-6 on the season and ranked No. 8 nationally, have been to four of the last six NCAA Final Fours, including a national title in 2004 and runner-up finish in 2005.
The 2010 NCAA Championships marks the eighth time in Baylor's 13 NCAA postseason appearances that the Bears have stayed home for the opening weekend of championship action.
Men's competition will begin on Saturday, May 15. Head coach Matt Knoll's Bears will take on Oral Roberts (7-8) in first round action at noon, while Rice (14-10) and Washington (17-5) will also meet in the first round at 9 a.m. Winners of Saturday's matches will play on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Last season was the first time since 2002 that the Bears had not hosted the event as Baylor was sent to Tulsa, Okla., for the first and second rounds. The Bears swept both of their opponents there and then traveled to College Station, Texas, where Baylor beat No. 18 Wake Forest, 4-1, in the round of 16 and then lost to No. 3 Ohio State in the quarterfinals, 4-1.
Baylor is 35-11 in NCAA Tournament play all-time and has only lost twice in the opening two rounds in 1998 and 2001.
"We are excited to be at home," Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said. "I think it is going to be a lot of fun for our team. It is good for the tennis community in central Texas. We hope a lot of folks will come out and watch it. It is great to have both the men and women here and have a chance to showcase our great facility, our great program and great university. We are looking to play well and advance."
Oral Roberts and Rice received automatic bids to the NCAA Tennis Championships by winning the Summit League and Conference USA conference tournaments, respectively. Baylor and Washington were both at-large bids to the 64-team field with Washington currently ranked No. 25 in the ITA poll. Rice is ranked 33rd, while Oral Roberts is unranked.
Tickets for first and second round action are $3 for students and $5 for adults.
Schedule of competition:
Friday, May 14
Women's First Round
Tulsa vs. North Texas at 11 a.m.
Baylor vs. Northwestern State at 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 15
Men's First Round
Rice vs. Washington at 9 a.m.
Baylor vs. Oral Roberts at 12 p.m.
Women's Second Round
Friday winners at 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 16
Men's Second Round
Saturday winners at 2 p.m.
The winner of each site will advance to the NCAA Tennis Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, in Athens, Ga., hosted by the University of Georgia. Team competition in Athens is May 21-25, while the singles and doubles championship will take place May 26-31. Selections for those tournaments will be announced on Wednesday, May 5.
