University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennis Opens Against UCLA at NCAA Championships
May 18, 2005 | Men's Tennis
May 18, 2005
The Tennessee men's tennis team faces seventh seed UCLA Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in its first match at the NCAA Championships at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Outdoor Tennis Center.
"UCLA has a great team as they always do," men's acting head coach Chris Mahony said. "It's going to be a tough battle for us and we are just going to try to get all of our guys ready for Saturday. I think our team is excited for the opportunity and will be ready."
The Vols (16-8, 6-5 SEC) have not faced the Bruins since 2000 when the Volunteers defeated UCLA 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. UCLA leads the all-time series 7-2, but both of Tennessee's victories have come in the NCAA Championships.
This season UCLA (23-3, 6-1 Pac 10) is paced by junior Luben Pampoulov, ranked No. 7 in the nation and Benjamin Kohlloeffel, ranked No. 11. Overall the Bruins roster features five different players ranked in the ITA's top 125. UCLA also has three different doubles tandems ranked led by Alberto Francis and Kris Kwinta at No. 19.
Tennessee senior Mark Dietrich and freshman Morgan Wilson led the Volunteers in Regional action this past weekend, winning both of their singles matches and teaming up in doubles to win both of their matches at the No. 2 position. Wilson clinched UT's victory on Saturday and Dietrich clinched the trip to the championships with his victory on Sunday.
Tennessee last appeared in the NCAA Championships in 2002, advancing all the way to the semifinals before UCLA rival USC knocked the Volunteers out. Live stats for the match and all Tennessee matches at the championships will be available at UTsports.com.
