May 6, 1998

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team, under the direction of head coach Bobby Bayliss, will make its eighth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament as its plays host to the NCAA Region IV Championship on the weekend of May 15-17, 1998.

The winner of the Region IV tournament advanced to the 16-team NCAA Division I Men’s Championship, which begins on May 23 in Athens, Ga. Eight of the teams in the 16 team field will be automatic qualifiers while the other eight slots are filled by winners of regional tournaments.

Notre Dame opens play in the Region IV tournament on Friday, May 15 with a 1:00 p.m. EST match against Minnesota in the first round. Notre Dame, the No. 3 seed in the event, has an overall record of 18-7 this season while the Golden Gophers are the No. 6 seed with an 11-12 record.

Other first round matchups include No. 1 seed Duke (20-5) vs. No. 8 seed Wisconsin (15-9) at 9:00 a.m. EST; No. 4 seed Purdue (14-10) vs. No. 5 seed Michigan (13-8), 9:00 a.m. EST; and No. 2 seed Northwestern (17-5) vs. No. 8 seed Louisville (18-7), 1:00 p.m. EST.

The semifinals of the tournament will be held on Saturday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m. EST and 2:00 p.m. EST while the championship will be held on Sunday, May 17 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Notre Dame is making its fourth-straight trip to an NCAA regional tournament and has lost to Minnesota in the first round of the 1996 and ’97 events. Notre Dame beat Minnesota in the ’96 regional finals to advance to the national tournament. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA national championship match in 1992 and to the national quarterfinals in ’93.

1998 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship Region IV Championship
May 15-17, 1998
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Ind.

First Round
Friday, May 15, 1998
No. 1 seed Duke (20-5) vs. No. 8 seed Wisconsin (15-9), 9:00 a.m. EST
No. 4 seed Purdue (14-10) vs. No. 5 seed Michigan (13-8), 9:00 a.m. EST
No. 3 seed Notre Dame (18-7) vs. No. 6 seed Minnesota (11-12), 1:00 p.m. EST
No. 2 seed Northwestern (17-5) vs. No. 7 seed Louisville (18-7), 1:00 p.m. EST

Semifinals
Saturday, May 16, 1998
Duke-Wisconsin winner vs. Purdue-Michigan winner, 10:00 a.m. EST
Notre Dame-Minnesota winner vs. Northwestern-Louisville winner, 1:00 p.m. EST

Championship
Sunday, May 17, 1998
Semifinal winners, 1:00 p.m. EST

THE TOURNAMENT: The winner of the Region IV Championship advances to the 16-team NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship, which begins on May 23 in Athens, Ga.

PRE-TOURNAMENT PRESS CONFERENCE: There will be a pre-tournament press conference held at the Courtney Tennis Center (Eck Tennis Pavilion in case of rain) on Thursday, May 14, 1998 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

TICKETS: Tickets will be available at the gate each day and are priced at $5 per day for adults and $3 per day for youth 16 and under, college students and senior citizens over the age of 55.