May 3, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team has earned an at-large bid into the 64-team 2011 NCAA Championship field, it was announced by the NCAA men’s tennis selection committee Tuesday evening. On either May 13th or 14th, at a time to be determined, the Irish will face East Tennessee State in Columbus, Ohio. Under the direction of head coach Bobby Bayliss, the Irish have earned 20 of the last 21 NCAA team championship draws.
Ohio State is serving as the host site and will play Ball State in the other first round match. The winners will then face each other the following day for the right to advance to the NCAA Championship round of 16.
For the 12th consecutive year, the NCAA men’s tennis championship features a field of 64 teams, consisting of 31 automatic-qualifying conference champions and 33 at-large selections. The first and second rounds will take place on May 13-15 at 16 campus sites. The winner of the second-round matches at each site will advance to Palo Alto, Calif., as Stanford University will play host to the final four rounds of the team tournament as well as the national championship draws for singles and doubles play from May 19-24.
The Notre Dame and East Tennessee State matchup is a familiar one as the two teams faced each other in an identical situation during the 2007-08 season. It was during the first round of the NCAA tournament and in Columbus, Ohio. The then 30th-ranked Irish dropped to then 41st-ranked and Atlantic Sun champion East Tennessee State Buccaneers in a 4-2 decision.
After dropping the doubles point, Lisandro Picardo defeated then freshman Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) dropped to Lisandro Picardo in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 at fourth singles. Andrew Roth was then downed 6-1, 6-2 to Predrag Burmazovic at third singles to move the score to 3-0 in favor of the Bucs. Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) kept the match going as the then freshman defeated Daniel Isaza, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 6 position. The 44th-ranked Brett Helgeson defeated No. 57 Enrique Olivares in a three-set match, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Sebastion Serrano clinched the match for East Tennessee State as the No. 2 singles player defeated Sheeva Parbhu, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4.
Notre Dame has reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Championships on seven occasions, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 1992 and a 1993 quarterfinal result. The Irish lost in the opening round in 2004, ’05, ’08 and ’09, but reached the round of 16 in 2006 and ’07.
For more information on the NCAA men’s tennis tournament, check back with und.com. A full NCAA Championship notes package will be posted as the match versus East Tennessee State approaches.
–ND–