May 9, 2008

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Furman men's tennis team will head to Knoxville to take on Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Regional Tournament. Match time is set for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 10.

#69 Furman (16-10) will take on #8 Tennessee (21-3) on Saturday, May 10. The two teams met earlier this year in the Paladins' first match of the season, with Tennessee earning a 7-0 win.

Furman earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 4-1 victory over Elon in the Southern Conference tournament finals. Tennessee earned an at-large bid, after falling to Ole Miss in the semifinals of the SEC tournament.

The Tennessee squad features three ranked singles players as well as one ranked doubles team. Freshman J.P. Smith leads the team with a 24th-place ranking, while senior Kaden Hensel is ranked 35th and freshman Boris Conkic is ranked 93rd in the latest ITA poll. The doubles team of Smith/Hensel is ranked 4th in the country.

2008 marks the Paladins' second trip to the NCAA tournament in the last three years, and third trip in the history of the program.

NCAA Tournament Notes