April 28, 2009

2009 NCAA Bracket | Tournament Central

Knoxville, Tenn. -- The fifth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team plays host for the second straight year to first and second round matches of the 2009 NCAA tournament May 8-9 as the 64-team field was announced by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Subcommittees Tuesday afternoon.

Tennessee (21-6), seeded fifth in the tournament, faces No. 61 East Tennessee State (13-7) in the first round at 1 p.m. ET next Friday. The winner of that match faces the winner of the 10 a.m. match between No. 51 Radford (20-3) and No. 23 Duke (15-8) in Saturday's second round at 3 p.m. ET. The Knoxville Regional winner advances to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, on the campus of Texas A&M, May 14-19.

"One of our goals every year is to host a regional," associate head coach Chris Woodruff said. "All three of the teams coming in are very talented and will offer a tough challenge. I'm happy we were able to secure a host site not just for us but for our fans also. We have great fans and I encourage them to come out and help the program represent our fantastic university."

This marks Tennessee's 20th appearance in the NCAA tournament where the Volunteers boast an all-time record of 27-19, finishing runner-up in 1990 and 2001. It is also the seventh time Tennessee has hosted regional play. The Vols, who have won 10 consecutive NCAA tournament matches in Knoxville, are 11-1 in regional action at home.

Tennessee defeated ETSU, 6-1, on Jan. 24 in both teams season-opener. Overall, UT leads the series with ETSU, 21-0. It is 8-6 versus Duke but has not played the Blue Devils since 2005. The Vols have never played Radford.

The teams will play a single-elimination tournament at 16 first- and second-round sites (four teams at each site) and the finals site (16-team bracket) to determine the national champion. The matches shall be regulation dual matches with three eight-game, pro-set doubles played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point, played best of three sets. Regular scoring will be used and a 12-point tiebreaker will be played at eight games all in doubles and at six games all in singles.

NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Schedule
First Round - Friday, May 8
10 a.m. - No. 51 Radford vs. No. 23 Duke
1 p.m. - No. 61 East Tennessee State vs. No. 5 Tennessee

Second Round - Sunday, May 9
3 p.m. - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner

Knoxville NCAA Tennis Regional Ticket Information
General admission tickets will be $5. Student tickets will be $3 with ID.
Children 2 and under will be admitted free of charge.
Tickets will be sold as single day admissions and pass outs will be allowed.
Tickets may be purchased the day of the match at the gate. No advance tickets will be sold.
Gates will open one hour prior to the beginning of the match.

Selections for the NCAA Men's Singles/Doubles Tournament will be announced Wednesday, April 29