NCAA Men’s Tennis: Bulldogs To Host First & Second Rounds
By Danny Bishop
Courtesy of University of Georgia
The Georgia men’s tennis team (22-4) received the No. 3 national seed and was named one of 16 hosts for the upcoming first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships, it was announced Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs will take on Binghamton in the first round, with Wake Forest and Northwestern also headed to Athens in hopes of advancing to the round of 16 on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana.
Georgia and Binghamton – which made the field as an automatic qualifier after winning the America East Conference title – will face off for the first time in history on Fri., May 10 at 1 p.m., while Wake Forest and Northwestern will play that morning at 10 a.m. The winners will meet in the second round on Sat., May 11 at 3 p.m. Illinois will then host the round of 16 through the finals in addition to the individual singles and doubles tournament May 16-27.
“It’s extremely rewarding for the guys [to host first and second rounds],” said head coach Manuel Diaz, who has guided the Bulldogs into the NCAA Championships in each of his 25 seasons. “They’ve put in a lot of work and had some great results this year. We are pleased with where we are, but we know we have a big challenge in front of us beginning with Binghamton. We know we can’t look past anybody. It’s the postseason now and we are only as good as we play today.”
Georgia received its own automatic entry in the field of 64 after winning the Southeastern Conference tournament championship in Oxford, Miss. The Bulldogs also won the regular-season title to sit with a total of 36 SEC championships.
The Bulldogs will be making their 35th overall appearance in the tournament and 30th straight. Georgia reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 2012, and has reached the finals in three of the last seven seasons. In all, the Bulldogs own six NCAA championships, most recently winning in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08.
The Georgia women’s tennis team was also selected as a first and second round host and will play Sat., May 11 and Sun., May 12. A full schedule is listed below and the bracket is attached in PDF format.
The fields for the individual portion of the tournament will be released tomorrow.
Live scoring and live video streaming will be available for all matches on Georgiadogs.com. The Georgia Tennis Live Chat will be up and running for all UGA matches. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students (college-age with ID and younger). Fans can order tickets on Georgiadogs.com beginning Wed., May 1 at 9 a.m. or by the UGA ticket office at 1-877-542-1231 Monday-Friday between normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased on match day at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex one hour prior to the first match each day.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY (TIMES EASTERN)
Friday, May 10
MATCH 1 (Men): 10 a.m. – Wake Forest vs. Northwestern
MATCH 2 (Men): 1 p.m. – Georgia vs. Binghamton
Saturday, May 11
MATCH 3 (Women): 9 a.m. – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma
MATCH 4 (Women): 12 p.m. – Georgia vs. Winthrop
MATCH 5 (Men): 3 p.m. – Winner Match 1 vs. 2
Sunday, May 12
MATCH 6 (Women): 2 p.m. – Winner Match 3 vs. 4