Florida Set for NCAA First Round Matchup with Pepperdine
Thursday, May 7, 2015 | Men's Tennis
NCAA Tournament Bracket: Interactive | Printable
WINSTON-SALEN, N.C. -- The University of Florida men's tennis team begins play in its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament on Friday, as the Gators take on Pepperdine in the first round. The match will be played at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at 12 p.m.
UF (14-8), ranked No. 21, faces West Coast Conference Tournament runner-up and the No. 42-ranked Waves (17-9) for the ninth time in program history. Heading into Friday's bout, the Gators trail the all-time series against Pepperdine, 5-3, including a 2-0 mark by the Waves in the NCAA Tournament.
Tomorrow's match winner will take on either Wake Forest (22-7), the runner-up at the ACC Tournament, or George Washington (13-12), which earned an automatic berth as Atlantic 10 Conference champions in Winston-Salem on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
This weekend's regional site winner will head to Baylor University's Hurd Tennis Center to play in the round of 16. BU will host the remainder of the tournament's matches. Those matches get underway on Thursday, May 14.
Coach Bryan Shelton has guided Florida to its third NCAA Tourney berth in as many years under his tutelage. A season ago, the Gators advanced to the NCAA Round of 16, where they dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to then-No. 3 Ohio State.
Florida's Pre-Match Notes: http://www.gatorzone.com/tennis/men/stats/notes/pre/20150508120000.pdf
Live Stats/Video: http://www.wakeforestsports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/live-video.html
NCAA Tournament Central Page: http://go.wfu.edu/2ks
Shelton's Notes:
“We're excited to compete again. We knew we blew our opportunity to host and didn't do enough to earn that honor. I feel like this group is gritty and is ready to do it the hard way. Certainly, Pepperdine is a quality program. They've won a national championship and have some good history on their side. We know that it's going to be a really tough match and excited at the same time for the challenge. The last couple weeks were great for our guys and we've honed in on what we need to be working on. I feel really good about extending the season and hopefully we can keep it going for a while.” – Head Coach Bryan Shelton
SCHEDULE:
| Friday, May 8 * Men's NCAA First Round | |
| 12 p.m. | FLORIDA vs. Pepperdine |
| 3 p.m. | Wake Forest vs. GWU |
| Saturday, May 9 * Men's NCAA First Round | |
| 3 p.m. | Friday's First Round winners |
