Men’s Tennis Returns to NCAA Tournament
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the second straight season, the University of Miami men’s tennis team will extend its season at the NCAA Team Championship.
No. 32 Miami (17-10, 7-5 ACC), which will compete at the national stage for the 28th time in program history, will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to face No. 28 Arizona State in Friday’s opening round at 3 p.m. ET.
Live streaming at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center will be made accessible HERE, while live stats will be available HERE.
After reaching the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2011, the Hurricanes have now earned back-to-back bids for the first time since doing so four years in a row from 2006-2009.
The 2019 Canes are led by a pair of sophomores in the national singles rankings, as Adria Soriano Barrera comes in at No. 32 and Bojan Jankulovski sits at No. 90.
Following a regular season which landed the Hurricanes their highest seed [fifth] in the ACC Championship since 2011 and first quarterfinals appearance in eight years, Soriano Barrera received All-ACC Second Team accolades, while freshman Francisco Bastias garnered Third Team honors.
Arizona State (13-13, 4-4 P12) is represented by No. 74 Nathan Ponwith in the singles rankings. In doubles, Ponwith teams up with Dominik Kellovsky as the nation’s No. 12 duo, while Baonoromandresy Rakotomalala and Justin Roberts form the No. 77 tandem.
TCU, ranked ninth and seeded No. 10, will host Harvard in the other first-round contest.
The winners of the two matches will square off Saturday to determine who will advance to the Super Regionals.
The Horned Frogs sport a 19-6 (3-2 B12) mark in 2019. TCU has a pair of student athletes ranked nationally, led by fifth-ranked Alex Rybakov and No. 26 Alastair Gray. The Horned Frogs also have a pair of top-25 doubles tandems, No. 18 Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov and No. 22 Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder.
The Crimson, ranked No. 39, have an 18-7 (5-2 IVY) record thus far. Harvard has a pair of ranked doubles pairs, with Brian Shi and Logan Weber ranked No. 53. Weber also teams up with Andy Zhou to form the nation’s No. 61 ranking.
The Hurricanes are 16-27 all-time at the NCAA Tournament and are seeking their first Round of 16 appearance since 2009, when Miami topped No. 10 Florida, 4-3, in second round action.
Tickets to the first and second-round matches can be purchased in advance by calling the TCU ticket office at 817-257-3764. Tickets also will be available for purchase on match days at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center beginning one hour before match time.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
