May 4, 2010

Contact: Greg Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland State men's tennis team will travel to Kentucky for a first round match in the NCAA Championship.

The official announcment was made on Tuesday afternoon on ESPNews when the entire 64 team field was released.

The match will be played on Saturday, May 15, at 1:00 p.m.

Georgia Tech will play Binghamton in the other first round match at Kentucky on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. with the two winners playing a second round match on Sunday, May 16 at 1:00 p.m.

"We are excited to go back and get a chance to play a very good Kentucky team in the NCAA tournament," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "I felt like we competed with them last season, but we know that we will need everyone playing at a high level to get a win. I think the doubles point is going to be very crucial and if we can somehow win that, I think that will put a lot of pressure on them and give us some momentum.

"We know them well and I think the more times we play a team, the better we do."

The Vikings enter the tournament with a 20-6 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 in league matches. CSU defeated UIC, 4-0, on April 25 to capture its third straight Horizon League Championship.

Kentucky, seeded 12th in the tournament, enters the tournament with a 23-8 record.

The 64-team field begins play on campus sites May 14-16. The round of 16 through the finals will take place May 21-25 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.