Men's Tennis Takes on NC State in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament
5/6/2015 4:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Tulsa will face the Wolfpack on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
The University of Tulsa men's tennis team will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the first round of the NCAA Tennis Championships to take on the No. 37 North Carolina State Wolfpack, on Friday, May 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, on the campus of Texas Christian University.
The No. 30 Golden Hurricane enters the TCU Regional after receiving an at-large bid and finishing the 2015 season with a 17-12 record. Tulsa fell just short of an American Athletic Conference Championship, losing to South Florida, 4-0, in the title match. This will be the 10th-straight season the Golden Hurricane has reached the NCAA Tournament and the 17th time overall.
Or Ram-Harel (13-8) comes into postseason action as the No. 27-ranked singles player in the country. Joining him in the rankings is senior Alejandro Espejo. Espejo (11-6) ranks 87 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The Hurricane also has two double's teams ranked inside the ITA top-90 as Matthew Kirby and Dylan McCloskey(5-4) rank 77, while Espejo and Carlos Bautista (8-5) are No. 82 in the nation.
The Wolfpack received an at-large bid out of the ACC, finishing its regular season with a 17-11 mark. NCSU had a first round exit in the ACC Tournament, falling to Florida State, 4-2, in the 8 vs. 9 matchup. The ACC has produced 10 teams in this year's NCAA Men's Championships.
NCSU brings three ranked singles players into the tournament. Robbie Mudge is the highest ranked on the team at No. 69, while Austin Powell ranks No. 93 and Simon Norenius at 110. In doubles, Mudge and Ian Dempster rank as the No. 33 duo in the nation, according to the ITA.
The Hurricane has taken on the Wolfpack twice in program history, beating them on both occasions.
The winner of the first-round match will take on either the fifth-seeded and regional host TCU, or Marist. Tulsa fell to TCU earlier in the year at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, 4-2. If Marist were to pull off the upset and the Hurricane win its opening round matchup, it would be the first time the Golden Hurricane and the Red Foxes would match up program history.
Tulsa has moved on to at least the second round of the NCAA tournament in six of their last eight seasons. The last time the Hurricane failed to advance to the second round was in 2010, when TU lost to Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma in the opening round.
To follow along with the live stats, click on the link provided: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tcu.
To see the complete bracket on the men's side: http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/tennis-men/d1.
For all Tulsa men's tennis news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. Follow Tulsa Men's Tennis on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TulsaMTennis) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TulsaMTennis).
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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