Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Draw Vanderbilt in NCAA Regionals
4/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 29, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The #38 Indiana University men's tennis team (16-9, 5-5 Big Ten) has earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, and will head south to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the #29 Vanderbilt Commodores (13-9, 4-7 SEC) on May 10. It marks the program's sixth trip to the NCAAs all-time and the first since 2001.
"It's a big step forward for the program," said Head Coach Randy Bloemendaal. "It (reaching the NCAA Regionals) was a goal we started with at the beginning of the season and it feels good to accomplish that goal."
The University of Mississippi is hosting the regional, and Indiana's match versus Vanderbilt is tentatively scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. eastern time. If the Hoosiers are to advance, they would play the winner of the #4 Mississippi vs. Marist match. That second round match is set for Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. eastern time.
"I'm excited because we have a bunch of young players on the team," said Bloemendaal. "I'm excited for our seniors as well. It's something they haven't been able to do since they got here and they've worked very hard for this. I'm happy for the guys, real happy for them."
Indiana's doubles tandem of Phillip Eilers and Lachlan Ferguson ranked #46 in the ITA's latest national rankings while Ryan Preston and Vijay Paul of Vanderbilt come in at #45. Preston can also be found in the singles rankings, slotted #53 in country.
The Hoosiers are 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Kentucky, 4-1, in 2000. Indiana leads the all-time series against Vanderbilt, 14-7, with the last match-up coming in 2005. Vanderbilt is 3-1 against the Big Ten this season with wins coming against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Northwestern. Its lone loss came at Michigan.
Check back here at IUHoosiers.com next week for a complete match preview and probable starting lineups.
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