May 4, 2000
Berkeley, Calif. -
The California men's tennis team earned its first selection to the NCAA tournament since 1998 today with a berth in a NCAA Regional bracket held at Stanford University, May 13-14. The No. 35 Bears will face No. 31 Auburn University in a first-round match May 13 at 9 a.m., at Taube Family Tennis Center.
Other teams in the Bears bracket are No. 1 Stanford and No. 56 Northwestern who will meet on May 13 at noon. The winners from each match will then play in the second round, May 14 at noon. The winner advances to the NCAA Championships held May 20-23 at the University of Georgia.
The Bears earned their entry after finishing 12-10 overall and 2-5 in Pac-10 play. They showed marked improvement over last year, winning an additional five matches to give them their first winning season since 1998. Their tie for fifth-place finish in the Pac-10 also tops their sixth-place finish of a year ago.
The Bears doubles duo of juniors Erik Dmytruk and Scott Kintz also earned their first ever invitation to the individual portion of the tournament, held May 24-28, also at the University of Georgia. The duo, ranked No. 22 in the country, earned an at-large bid after going 24-10 on the year. This almost doubles their 13 wins from last season.
For complete tournament information and a look at the tournament bracket go to the tournament's official website at www.ncaachampionships.com.
