Indiana University Athletics
Hoosier Tennis Heading to NCAA Regionals
4/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
April 30, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Both the men's and women's tennis programs have qualified for the 2008 NCAA Tournament and will begin NCAA Regional competition next weekend (May 9-11).
The women's tennis team (20-7, 8-2 Big Ten) drew #39 Louisville (16-7) in the first round. That match is tentatively scheduled for an 11 a.m. (EST) start on May 9, hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
"We're really happy to be in the tournament," said Head Coach Lin Loring. "It'll be fun playing a team that was not on our regular season schedule like Louisville. It's always fun to play a new team."
If the Hoosiers are to advance, they would play the winner of the #1 Northwestern vs. Illinois-Chicago match. That second round match is set for Saturday, May 10 at 1 p.m. eastern time. Louisville is making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships.
"Louisville really has an up-and-coming program," said Loring. "They had a really good year, so we expect that to be a great match and a challenge."
The men's tennis team (16-9, 5-5 Big Ten) 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."
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.
IU Women's Tennis Home Page
IU Men's Tennis Home Page
