Virginia No. 1 Seed for NCAA Tennis Tournament
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CHARLOTTESVILLE The Virginia men’s tennis is the No. 1 seed for the 2008 NCAA Tournament and will host first and second round action at the Snyder Tennis Center next week. The Cavaliers will meet Fairleigh Dickinson in a first round match on Saturday, May 10, while VCU will play Penn State in the other first round match in Charlottesville.
“This tournament has a field of 64 great teams, so to be the No. 1 seed is an honor,” said head coach Brian Boland. “We have 11 days to get ready for the start of the tournament, a time to continue to work hard and get better. We are excited for the tournament to start and are glad to once again have the chance to open play at home where we get such tremendous fan support.
The Cavaliers become the first ACC team to receive the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The previous high seed in conference history came in 2005 when Virginia was the No. 2 seed.
The selection marks the fifth consecutive year that the Cavaliers have received a national seed and will host a regional. Virginia is the only school to be a top eight seed in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past five years. In each of the past four years, Virginia won first and second round matches at home to advance as one of 16 regional winners to the NCAA Championships. This year, the University of Tulsa will host the NCAA Championships.
Virginia enters the tournament 28-0 and has been ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings every week of the season. The Cavaliers earned the ACC’s automatic bid to the tournament by winning the ACC Tournament two weeks ago in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Fairleigh Dickison (12-8) is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Northeast Conference. Last season, the Knights also faced the tournament’s No. 1 seed, falling to Georgia in the first round. VCU (19-7) enters the tournament as the champions of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams are making their 16th consecutive NCAA appearance. Penn State (15-11) was selected as an at-large bid for the third consecutive season.
The Virginia-Fairleigh Dickinson match will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the VCU-Penn State match to follow at 1 p.m. The winners will meet in the second round on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NCAA First Round Saturday, May 10
10 a.m. Virginia (28-0) vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (12-8)
1 p.m. VCU (19-7) vs. Penn State (15-11)
NCAA Second Round Sunday, May 11
1 p.m. First round winners