April 29, 2008

2008 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament Bracket 

CINCINNATI - The Xavier men's tennis team will be playing No. 15 Illinois in the First Round of the 2008 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament Friday, May 9, at 12:00 pm CST (1:00 pm ET) as announced Tuesday afternoon on ESPNews. This is the first-ever team NCAA Tournament appearance for the Musketeers as XU earned the automatic bid to the tournament after winning the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship on April 4.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for me and for the entire team," commented sophomore Chris Herrlinger. "This is a first-time experience for us and it is going to be a very exciting atmosphere. I am looking forward to playing on May 9th and it is something I will always remember." 

Xavier (16-8) will be traveling to Champaign, Ill., for First and Second Round action and will be playing on Illinois' home court, the Atkins Tennis Center. Illinois (18-8), who is coming off a runner-up finish at the 2008 Big Ten Tournament and a 2007 runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, will be making their 13th straight NCAA tournament appearance, and enter this year's installment as the 15th-seed.  

Illinois will also be welcoming the No. 46 Drake Bulldogs (24-0) and the No. 18 LSU Tigers (14-8) to the Atkins Tennis Center, as the pair will battle in the other first-round matchup on Friday, May 9, at 3:00 pm CST with the winner advancing to face the Illinois-Xavier winner on Saturday, May 10.

Ticket prices for the First and Second Rounds are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and will go on sale one hour prior to the first match each day at the North entrance of Atkins Tennis Center. One ticket is valid for admission to all matches on the day the ticket is purchased.

Fans not attending the Championship can visit the University of Illinois athletic website by clicking here for match updates every 15 minutes.

First- and second-round competition will be conducted Friday-Sunday, May 9-11,at 16 different regional sites with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., May 16-20.

The teams will play a single-elimination tournament beginning in the first round, with the finals site (16-team bracket) to determine the national champion. The matches shall be regulation dual matches with three eight-game pro-set doubles played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point, played best of three sets. Regular scoring will be used and a 12-point tiebreaker will be played, at eight games all in doubles and at six games all in singles.