Hokies set to open 2018 NCAA Men's Tennis ChampionshipHokies set to open 2018 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship
Men's Tennis

Hokies set to open 2018 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship

BLACKSBURG – The 35th-ranked Virginia Tech men's tennis team is set to open the 2018 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship on Friday, May 11 at 10 a.m. in Columbus, Ohio. This marks the 11th appearance in the past 12 seasons for the Hokies who will open with No. 25 Kentucky.

NCAA REGIONAL INFORMATION
Date: May 11-12
Site: Columbus, Ohio
Schedule:
Friday
10 a.m. – #35 Virginia Tech vs. #26 Kentucky
1 p.m. – #3 Ohio State vs. ETSU

Saturday
Noon – Advancing Teams

Tournament Information: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live Scoring: OSUTennis Facebook

Admission is Free

THE HOKIES (17-7, 7-5 ACC)
Heading into the match, Virginia Tech is led by Mitch Harper who is ranked 29th in the ITA with a 14-6 record at the one this spring. He was recently named to the All-ACC First Team for his strong play this season with seven ranked wins, including a pair of top-25 victories.

Alex Ribeiro is adding an impressive 18-5 tally, playing primarily at the three while Jason Kros is 13-9, including 11-9 at the two. Carlo Donato has posted a 15-6 record. In doubles, Tech has two duos ranked with Ribeiro and Henrik Korsgaard leading the charge at 27th. They are 8-4 at the one this spring. Harper and Donato are 54th. Harper earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Singles Championship while Ribeiro and Korsgaard were named to the doubles field.

As a team, Tech closed out the regular season, winning eight of its last 10 matches including wins over then-ranked No. 12 Florida State, No. 43 Miami, No. 41 and No. 43 Virginia.

The Hokies traveled this same path in the 2016 tournament, defeating the Wildcats 4-3 in the first round before falling 4-2 to then-fifth seeded Ohio State. Harper is the only current Tech player to have competed in either match, playing on court five at the time.

THE WILDCATS (14-11, 7-5 SEC)
Kentucky enters the weekend ranked 26th in the ITA standings after closing out the season with a 4-6 record and falling to No. 50 Alabama 4-1 in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats are led by No. 8 Ryotaro Matsumura and No. 50 William Bushamuka. Both were named to the All-SEC First Team while teammate Trey Yates was on the second team. Matsumura is 17-4 this season with nine wins over nationally ranked opponents while Bushamuka is 10-7 with four ranked wins. Both Matsumura and Bushamuka will compete in the NCAA singles tournament.

The Wildcats also have two doubles teams ranked with No. 13 Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson and No. 86 Trey Yates and Enzo Wallart. Kentucky's top-ranked pair earned a spot in the NCAA doubles field with a 9-6 tally on court one.

In the 2016 match, Bushamuka, Matsumura, Wallart and Yates all competed for the Wildcats.

THE BUCKEYES (29-2, 11-0 B1G)
Ohio State enters NCAAs on a 17-match win streak including a 15-0 tally at home this season. The Buckeyes are coming off a Big Ten Championship and are led by five players ranked in the latest ITA standings with Mikael Torpegaard leading the way at No. 6. JJ Wolf is 41st, John McNally at 92nd while Kyle Seeling and Martin Joyce are No. 96 and No. 112, respectively.

Torpegaard is 25-7 on the season and was named the Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Year. Wolf is 20-4 on the season while McNally was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after posting a 18-2 mark on the year. Torpegaard and Wolf will represent OSU at the NCAA singles tournament.

The Buckeyes also have two ranked doubles teams with Torpegaard entering the standings with two different partners. He and Joyce are No. 25 while he is 61st with McNally. Torpegaard will pair-up with Joyce for NCAA doubles tournament.

Torpegaard and Joyce were both on the court for the Buckeyes when the two teams met in 2016.

THE BUCS (16-7, 7-0 SoCon)
ETSU earned a spot in the field for the 12th consecutive year after claiming it's 12th consecutive conference title. The Bucs are led by Robert Herrera who is 15-6 at the one spot. He adds an 8-1 record with teammate Sergi Fontcuberta at the No. 2 in doubles. Fontcuberta leads the team with 17 singles wins while David Gonzalez is adding a 15-2 tally.