USC Aiken Men’s Tennis to Make Eighth NCAA Tournament Appearance

INDIANAPOLIS – USC Aiken men’s tennis learned on Wednesday evening that the program will be making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance as they were selected to participate in one of the two Southeast Region six-team preliminary rounds as announced by the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Committee on Wednesday, April 29.

The 16 preliminary-round tournaments will be conducted May 7-8, 8-9 or 7-9, with the winner of each preliminary-round tournament advancing to the finals in Altamonte Springs, Fla., hosted by the Central Florida Sports Commission and Rollins College, May 13-16. The championships consist of a 16-team single elimination tournament.

The NCAA Division II ninth-ranked Pacers will be taking part in the Armstrong Atlantic State Southeast Region bracket in Savannah, Ga. The Armstrong Atlantic State Southeast Region bracket will be contested May 7-9.

The second seed in the Armstrong Atlantic State Southeast Region bracket, USC Aiken will await the winner of the Francis Marion (15-5) and Mars Hill match on day one on May 7. The winner of the match will move on to take on the Pacers on May 8 in a regional semifinal at a time yet to be determined.

USC Aiken has played fellow Peach Belt Conference institution Francis Marion twice in 2009; first downing the Patriots, 7-2, during the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 24. They just recently picked up a 5-2 win over Francis Marion in the quarterfinals of the PBC Tournament.

USC Aiken has not yet played the South Atlantic Conference champions in the Mars Hill Lions, who picked up their first ever SAC championship by defeating Tusculum 5-1 in the SAC Tournament final.

In the bottom half of the bracket, USC Aiken’s rival and fellow PBC school Augusta State (10-10) will face off against PBC brethren Lander (8-8) for the right to take on defending national champion Armstrong Atlantic State (24-1) in the semifinals.

USC Aiken and Armstrong Atlantic State recently squared off for the PBC Tournament crown with the Pirates acquiring a 5-1 win on Sunday, April 19.

The Pacers enter the NCAA Tournament with an 18-4 record on the year. USC Aiken finished 5-3 during the regular season in the Peach Belt Conference.

The ranking of ninth presently for USC Aiken is the highest in school history. The Pacers will enter the NCAA Tournament having claimed a team victory in 12 of their last 13 matches.