North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 27 Men's Tennis Earns Second-Straight NCAA Bid
5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 27 NC State men's tennis team was rewarded with its second-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid on Tuesday, May 2, as the bracket was revealed live on ESPNEWS. State will face No. 43 William & Mary on Friday, May 11, in Chapel Hill, N.C., on the North Carolina campus. The Pack will enter the match with a 20-9 record, while the Tribe stands at 16-11. In addition to those two, host No. 6 UNC and Radford will also hit the courts in Chapel Hill.
The NCAA bid marks just the fourth in school history, and the first time that the program has gone to the tournament in back-to-back seasons. It also stands as the first time that the team has ever been a No. 2 seed in its portion of the opening round.
UNC and Radford will get things started on Friday at 10 a.m., with NC State and William & Mary following at 1 p.m. The winners of Friday's matches will battle on Saturday, May 12 in the regional final at 4 p.m. with a spot to the Sweet 16 in Athens, Ga., on the line.
All matches will be held at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina. Multiple directions to the facility are listed at the bottom of this release.
"We have a tough opponent in William & Mary, but we look forward to the challenge. After taking the next step by making the tournament field last season, we want to come in this year and take another step by advancing. In order to do that, we're going to have to play our best tennis of the season against a very, very solid team that we have a lot of respect for."
State and the Tribe squared off earlier this season at the Blue Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala., on March 15, with the Pack taking a 4-0 victory. NC State trails the all-time series between the two schools, 5-9, despite winning the last two bouts.
North Carolina, standing as the overall No. 6 seed in the entire tournament field, will take on Radford in the first round.
As was the case last season when the Wolfpack opened the NCAA Tournament in Durham, fans of NC State tennis won't have far to travel to catch the action. Choboy and company are certain that will parlay into their favor once the match begins.
"We're hoping that all the loyal Wolfpackers in the area will make an effort to head over to Chapel Hill and support this great group of guys as we represent our university," said Choboy.
This season marks the second time that NC State has won 20 matches in a year. The last time it happened? Try one year ago, when head coach Jon Choboy lead State to a 20-11 slate and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999.
Click here to view the complete tournament bracket.
CONE-KENFIELD TENNIS CENTER
From Points West:
Take I-85 North towards Durham, N.C. When I-85 and I-40 split, take I-40 East. Continue on I-40 East until exit for NC-54 West (exit #273 A). Continue on NC-54 West approximately 1 mile. Turn left at stoplight into the Friday Center. Follow signs to Tennis Center.
From Points East:
Take I-40 West to Chapel Hill. Exit at NC-54 West (exit #273 A) and follow for approximately 1 mile. Turn left at stoplight into the Friday Center. Follow signs to Tennis Center.
From Points South:
Take US-15/50 North to Chapel Hill. Exit right onto 15/501 Bypass in Chapel Hill. Continue on 15/501 Bypass through two stoplights. After second light, take next exit, which will be NC-54 East. Continue on NC-54 East approximately 1.5 miles. Turn right at stoplight into Friday Center. Follow signs to Tennis Center.
