MEN’S TENNIS
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UnknownPublished: 5/13/2024, Last updated: 5/13/2024
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ETSU Men’s Tennis to Face No. 7 seed Tennessee in NCAA Tournament

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After winning its sixth straight SoCon Championship earlier this month, the ETSU men’s tennis team will be headed to Knoxville, Tennessee, to take on the No. 7 overall seed Tennessee Volunteers in the 2024 NCAA Division I NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship, as announced by the NCAA selection Committee Monday night.

The first-round matchup between the Bucs and the Vols will be played on Friday, May 3, at 1 p.m.

The Buccaneers officially earned an automatic bid to the tournament for the sixth consecutive year after being crowned Southern Conference champions for the sixth time in as many years. ETSU defeated second-seeded Samford, 4-2, in the title match of the 2024 Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Led by SoCon Coach of the Year, Ricky Rojas, ETSU is 13-9 on the year and is paced by four-time SoCon Player of the Year Dimitri Badra. The first-team all-conference selection is 14-4 in singles competition and posted a perfect 7-0 record in conference action. Newcomer Alberto Garcia earned All-Freshman Team honors for the Bucs, after posting a 7-7 overall singles record and a 5-9 mark in doubles during his first season with the Bucs. Milledge Cossu and Francisco Lamas claimed second-team doubles all-conference accolades at the conclusion of the season.

The Bucs will square off against a Tennessee squad that owns a 22-6 overall record and finished with a 10-2 mark in SEC action. The Vols enter the tournament with a perfect 15-0 home record at Barksdale Stadium this season. Tennessee is coming off a 4-2 setback to 24th-ranked and No. 11 seed South Carolina (April 20) in the SEC Tournament semifinals at the LSU Tennis Complex.

Friday’s matchup will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the Bucs and Vols in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2010. Tennessee won all three previous matchups.

The winner of ETSU/Tennessee will face the winner of No. 28 North Carolina/No. 35 Memphis on Saturday (May 4) at 4 p.m.