Friday, May 13, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio (May 12, 2011) – After three long weeks off from competition, the No-55 ranked ETSU men’s tennis team returns to action on Friday morning for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 33 Notre Dame at the Stickney Tennis Center on the campus of Ohio State University. The match will take place at 10 a.m.

ETSU, who is making its fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, enters the match with a 17-6 overall record after taking home the Atlantic Sun Conference title a few weeks ago. The Bucs have had some recent success in NCAA Tournament competition after defeating No. 32-ranked Alabama just a year ago in the opening round. ETSU was defeated by host and eventual national runner-up Tennessee in the second round.

The Bucs are facing Notre Dame in the opening round for the second time in the last three years. Strangely enough, ETSU earned its first ever NCAA victory in 2008 after defeating the Fighting Irish in the Columbus, Ohio Regional.

Ohio State is serving as the host site and will play Ball State in the other first round match. The winners will then face each other the following day for the right to advance to the NCAA Championship round of 16. The winners of the two opening-round contests will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday for a chance to move on to the Round of 16 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif. The University of Stanford will serve as the event's hosts.