Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. - The 45th-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face 23rd-ranked Harvard in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships. Tech and Harvard will play in a 9 a.m. match on Saturday, May 12 at UF’s Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The Hokies (11-11) and Crimson (22-2) will be joined by host-team Florida (14-9) and Navy (18-8) in Gainesville for the first and second rounds.
“We’re excited to be back in the NCAA Tournament,” said head coach Jim Thompson. “To go to Gainesville to play against Harvard is a great opportunity for our program. We are all looking forward to it.”
With this year’s at-large bid the Hokies will make their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. It will be the second time this season that Tech and Harvard have faced each other. The Crimson edged the Hokies 4-3 earlier this season in Cambridge, Mass. Harvard claimed the doubles point and three singles matches. Tech had singles’ wins from Luka Somen, Lucas Oliveira and Mauricio Antun.
Somen is ranked 48th in the latest ITA singles standings and has tallied a 15-6 record in the No. 1 this season. Fellow senior Patrick Daciek has posted an 11-7 mark in the No. 3 singles. Somen has paired up with Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci in the No. 1 doubles where the duo has earned a ranking of 42nd with a 10-10 record in the No. 1.
Harvard’s Denis Nguyen has posted a 12-5 record in the No. 2 singles this season while teammate Jonathan Pearlman is 11-10 in the No. 1. Shaun Chaudhuri is 22-2 in duals, including a 9-1 record at the No. 4. Alistair Felton and Casey MacMaster are ranked 66th in the ITA doubles standings with the duo’s 13-8 record in the No. 1.
The winner of the opening round match will advance to face either Florida or Navy. UF is the 12th overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The 2012 bracket can be found on the NCAA website by clicking here.