ETSU men and women tennis watch party

After winning its fifth straight Atlantic Sun Conference Championship just over two weeks ago, the ETSU men’s tennis team finally learned its first round match-up on Tuesday afternoon during the NCAA.com selection show.

With players, coaches, staff members and fans watching inside the Humphreys Center, ETSU (17-5) received news that it will be traveling to the Columbus Regional and will take on Notre Dame (17-11) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bucs, who enter the tournament ranked 55^th in latest ITA poll, have won eight straight matches.

Director of Tennis Yaser Zaatini’s squad will be making their ninth NCAA appearance all-time. The first round match between ETSU and Notre Dame is a familiar one as the two teams faced each other in an identical situation during the 2007-08 season. Strangely enough, the match was during the first round of the NCAA tournament and also in the Columbus Regional. The Bucs earned their first ever victory in the Big Dance as they knocked off the then 30th-ranked Irish in a 4-2 decision.

The Bucs earned their second NCAA victory last season when they knocked off No. 32 Alabama in the opening round of the Knoxville Regional.

Notre Dame enters the field after receiving an at-large bid from the committee, following a year in which the team defeated 11 nationally ranked opponents. Under the direction of head coach Bobby Bayliss, the Fighting Irish have earned 20 of the last 21 NCAA team championship draws.

Joining ETSU and Notre Dame in Columbus is the top-seed in the regional Ohio State (30-2) and Ball State (15-14).

Specific times and dates for first and second round matches will be released at a later time.

For the 12th consecutive year, the NCAA men's tennis championship features a field of 64 teams, consisting of 31 automatic-qualifying conference champions and 33 at-large selections. The first and second rounds will take place on May 13-15 at 16 campus sites. The winner of the second-round matches at each site will advance to Palo Alto, Calif., as Stanford University will play host to the final four rounds of the team tournament as well as the national championship draws for singles and doubles play from May 19-24.

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After winning its third ever Atlantic Sun Conference Championship over two weeks ago, the ETSU women’s tennis team finally learned its first round match-up on Tuesday evening during the NCAA.com selection show.

With players, coaches, staff members and fans watching inside the Humphreys Center, ETSU (15-6) will head to the Chapel Hill Regional and take on No. 4 overall seed North Carolina (23-5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

ETSU Director of Tennis Yaser Zaatini will make his first appearance in the big dance with the women after taking over the program in July. The Lady Bucs will be making their third NCAA appearance all-time and first since 2009.

North Carolina enters the field after receiving an automatic berth to the field of 64 after defeating No. 18 Florida State for the ACC Tournament title. The Tar Heels will be making their 13^th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and seventh under head coach Brian Kalbas. UNC is also one year removed from advancing to the Final Four.

Overall, North Carolina – who is currently ranked No. 4 in the country by the ITA – has defeated an impressive 19 nationally ranked teams this season. Joining ETSU and North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional are Washington (12-10) and Maryland (13-9).