May 5, 2004
The University of Notre Dame men’s and women’s tennis teams will discover their postseason fates today, when the NCAA Division I Tennis Championship brackets are announced on ESPNews at approximately 3:35 p.m. (EST) (4:35 p.m. on the east coast). The 30th-ranked Irish men won their fourth BIG EAST title last weekend to secure an automatic berth, while the 29th-ranked Notre Dame women are seeking an at-large berth to the NCAAs. The women’s bracket will be shown first, with the men’s draw to follow around 3:45 p.m.
ESPNews can be found on DirecTV (channel 207), Dish Network (channel 142) and selected cable systems (check your local listings). ESPNews reaches approximately 40 million households in the United States. The brackets also will be available on www.ncaasports.com after they are released.
The NCAA Championships, which feature fields of 64 for the fifth consecutive year, begin with first- and second-round action May 14-16 on campus sites. The final four rounds of the women’s tournament will take place May 20-23 in Athens, Ga., while the round of 16-final of the men’s draw are slated for May 22-25 in Tulsa, Okla.
The draws for the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships will be released Thursday on www.ncaasports.com. The women’s events will be May 24-29 in Athens, and the men’s tournaments are set for May 26-31 in Tulsa. A total of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams on each side will gain bids.
There will be televised coverage of the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships, as ESPN2 will air tape-delayed shows on the women’s (May 25, 2 p.m. EST) and men’s (June 2, 2 p.m. EST) team tournaments. Additionally, the Tennis Channel will show the singles and doubles finals for both the women (first airing June 4, 6 p.m. EST) and men (first airing June 5, 6 p.m. EST).
Notre Dame’s men’s team had gained 12 consecutive NCAA bids, highlighted by five round-of-16 appearances and reaching the title match in 1992, prior to just missing the field a year ago. The Irish women have earned a spot in 10 of the last 11 NCAA tournaments — including eight in a row — advancing to the final 16 on five occasions.
The Irish men are 15-8 this season and have won eight of their last 11 matches, while the women’s team is 11-11, having peaked at 18th in the national rankings earlier this spring.