University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols To Play In Chapel Hill For Opening Rounds of NCAA Tourney
May 01, 2018 | Men's Tennis
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Tennessee men's tennis team will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the opening rounds of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships.
After a semifinal appearance in the SEC Tournament, the Vols (20-8) will face UNC Wilmington (19-4) on Saturday, May 12 at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Seventh-seeded North Carolina (22-5) will host Campbell (17-5) in the other half of the regional bracket.
"It's great to have the opportunity once again to participate in NCAA's," senior Luis Valero said. "We have a good team and the best coaching staff to achieve really big things. If we do things right, we will be playing at Winston Salem in the Sweet 16."
This marks the 27th time in program history that UT has been selected to compete in the NCAA Championships. The Vols all-time record in the tournament is 43-26, with their last appearance coming in 2015, when they fell in the first round to Stanford by a score of 4-2. Tennessee's last win in the tournament happened in 2014 when it defeated Duke in the round of 32.
With this year's road mapped out for them, head coach Chris Woodruff is looking for focus out of his team during the week-and-a-half break between the selection and start of competition.
"We just focus on our first round opponent," Woodruff said. "That's all we're going to do. We'll get through final exams and then go to work from there."
Tennessee's opening opponent, the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, carry a 19-4 record into the tournament. The Seahawks were stellar at home in 2018, posting an 11-0 mark.
Sophomore Michael Copeland leads the team with 17 wins in singles, with 16 coming at the No. 4 position in the lineup. Raphael Calzi and Ignasi de Rueda form the Seahawks' top doubles pairing, and enter the tournament with a 10-7 overall record.
The winners of the two matches face off in the second round on May 13, and the champion of the four-school region will advance to the final tournament site at Wake Forest.
