May 1, 2012
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2012 NCAA Tournament Central
2012 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
First and Second Rounds
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif.
Saturday, May 12 | First Round
No. 19 Texas Tech (15-8) vs. No. 63 Cal Poly (15-7) | 9 a.m. PT
No. 14 California (12-11) vs. UTSA (13-10) | Noon PT
Sunday, May 13 | Second Round
TBA vs. TBA | 1 p.m. PT
BERKELEY - The 14th-ranked California men's tennis team (12-11) received its school-record 13th consecutive postseason bid as the 14th seed in the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships on Tuesday, May 1. The Golden Bears will host Texas Tech (15-8), Cal Poly (15-7), and UTSA (13-10), in first- and second-round matches at the Hellman Tennis Complex on May 12 and 13.
In the first round, 19th-ranked Texas Tech will face No. 63 Cal Poly in the first match on Saturday (May 12) at 9 a.m. PT. Cal and UTSA will take the courts not before noon that day. The two winners will meet in the second round at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 13. The winner of the second round match will advance to the round of 16 set to be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., May 18.
Tickets for the first and second rounds will only be available on the day of competition at the Stow Plaza gate at Hellman Tennis Complex. General admission is $10. Seniors (over the age of 65), students (with valid identification), and youth (K-12) receive $5 admission.
"It's great to be at home," said Wright on hosting first- and second-round matches. "We've had a great record at home over the years. Being in front of our home crowd and fans, everything is as it should be, but it's still a challenge because our guys are in finals leading up to this. It's really helpful for us to be at home as well because players can take finals and then come out here and play in the matches. It's not so much an advantage for us as it could have been a disadvantage to have to go on the road and take final exams amidst our preparation for the matches."
The Roadrunners earned an automatic bid to the championships as the Southland Conference Champions. UTSA rides a three-match streak into the NCAA tournament and has won seven of its last 10 matches. The Roadrunners captured their third straight conference tournament crown and will be facing the Bears for the first time in program history.
"We know UTSA has had a good year," said Wright. "They are going to be a strong opponent. On the other side of the bracket, Texas Tech and Cal Poly are both having good years. Texas Tech is always a dangerous team and Cal Poly is having one of its best years in a while. We've got our work cut out for us for sure, but we're certainly excited to be hosting and to be in this event."
The Red Raiders have won seven of their last 10 matches but are the losers of two of their last three outings. Texas Tech fell in a narrow 4-3 loss to Baylor in the Big 12 semifinals, last week. The last time the Bears and the Raiders faced each other, Texas Tech claimed a 4-1 win in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 30, 2011, during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Prior to that, Cal won, 4-0, in the only other meeting against the Raiders.
The Mustangs are also winners of seven of their last 10 matches, but are riding a four-match winning streak that culminated in a 4-3 victory over UC Santa Barbara for the Big West title last weekend. The last time Cal and Cal Poly met on the courts, the Bears earned a 6-0 win in 1998. Cal holds a 2-0 lead over the Mustangs in all-time meetings.
Last year, the Bears advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since the 2003 squad went all the way to the national quarterfinals. The Bears hosted and defeated Marist (4-0) and Fresno State (4-3) to move ahead before suffering a 4-2 loss to Tennessee. Under head coach Peter Wright, Cal has earned 18 postseason bids in 19 years and has advanced as far as the national quarterfinals (2003) with four additional appearances in the round of 16 (1995, '98, 2001, `11).
Live streaming video and scores for all first- and second-round matches will be available via links at CalBears.com.
