Men's Tennis Faces Nebraska in NCAA First Round
May 3, 2011
NCAA Men’s Tennis Bracket | Selection Show Replay | NCAA Championship Site
Coral Gables, Fla… The No. 27 University of Miami men’s tennis team will face No. 41 Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Fri., May 13, at 10 a.m. at the University of Florida’s Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville.
It marks the fifth NCAA appearance for the Hurricanes (14-8, 8-3 ACC) in their seventh season under head coach Mario Rincon,who picked up his 100th career victory in the April 8 win over Maryland. Miami – winners of six of its last 10 matches – has gone 5-4 in NCAA Tournament play under Rincon with two Round of 16 appearances, including in the program’s last NCAA berth in 2009. That season, the Canes defeated Columbia in the NCAA’s opening round and then edged the host Gators in the regional finals to advance.
“We are happy to represent University of Miami in the biggest stage in college tennis,” said Coach Rincon. “We’re looking forward to competing, once again, at the national level against the very best teams in the nation. Our guys have been working on their fitness and they’ve done a great job in the classroom. We will be ready to compete our best and to represent Miami with pride. Nebraska is a solid team and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Cornhuskers (15-12, 1-6 Big 12), who have dropped six of their last seven matches, advance to their second-straight NCAA Tournament. They are led by 70th ranked Christopher Aumueller, who is also ranked in doubles play at No. 54 with teammate Bendikt Lindheim and at No. 65 with Andre Stenger.
Miami – who is making its 45th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 53 years – leads the all-time series versus Nebraska, 1-0.
Senior All-American Carl Sundberg (20-11, 9-2 ACC) leads the Hurricanes, taking a team-best eight-match win streak into the NCAA Tournament, with a team-high nine victories in conference play this season at No. 3 and 4. His 64 doubles wins tie for seventh in UM history, while his 71 career singles wins rank 12th in the Miami record book.
In doubles play, senior Eduardo Pavia and freshman Pedro Ast ride a seven-match win streak into the postseason at No. 3, going 8-1 versus ACC competition during the regular season. In his only season for the Canes, Pavia has earned a team-high 21 singles victories, followed by Sundberg with 20 and freshman Gabriel Flores with 19.
The host Gators (18-8), seeded seventh in the NCAA Tournament and ranked eighth in the latest ITA Poll released Monday, will take on South Carolina State (13-4) at 1 p.m. on Friday, with the winners of both first-round matches meeting in NCAA regional finals action on Sat., May 14, at 3 p.m.
The 16 winners of each site advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship in Palo Alto, Calif., to be held from May 19-22.
Miami is one of nine ACC teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament this season, joining top-seeded Virginia, 11th-seeded Duke,15th-seeded Georgia Tech, 16th-seeded North Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Florida State. Those nine selections tie the SEC for the most teams in the 2011 field.
NCAA Tournament tickets may be purchased in advance (352-375-4683) or on each day of the tournament. An all-session pass is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for senior citizens, college students and children under 17. Single-day tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for senior citizens, college students and children under 17.
Selections for the NCAA singles and doubles championships will be announced on Wednesday evening.
