No. 5 Men’s Tennis Hosts 2011 NCAA Division III Central Regional

NCAA BRACKET | REGIONAL WEB SITE

St. Louis, Mo., May 9, 2011 — The No. 5 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men’s tennis team will host the Central Regional of the 2011 NCAA Division III Championship on Friday-Sunday, May 13-15, at the Tao Tennis Center in St. Louis, Mo. This marks the fourth-straight year Washington U. has hosted regional action.

The Bears, who are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th-straight season, received an at-large bid to the tournament after falling to No. 2 ranked Emory University, 6-0, in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship on April 17 in Waltham, Mass.

"The guys I know will be excited to learn we are hosting once again. We did the things necessary to put ourselves in position to host," said 10th-year head coach Roger Follmer. "We are looking forward to continuing to play our best tennis in the month of May."

No. 4 seed Luther College (19-7) and No. 5 seed Earlham College (17-3) will meet on Friday in the opening match, with the winner facing top-seeded Washington University on Saturday. No. 3 seed University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (26-5) squares off with No. 6 seed Westminster College (11-6) on Friday in the second opening round match, with the winner to meet No. 2 seed and 21st ranked Whitman College on Saturday.

Washington University is making its 16th NCAA appearance, and 13th as a Division III institution. The Bears have advanced to the quarterfinals seven times in school history–1986, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 – and won the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championship. Washington U. has an overall record of 19-13 (.594) in 12 trips to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Washington U. is one of three UAA squads selected for the NCAA Championship. Emory received the UAA’s automatic bid and will host regional play in Atlanta, Ga., while the University of Chicago received an at-large bid and will play at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges will host the team championships finals, which will be held Tuesday-Thursday, May 24-26, at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif. Student-athletes selected to the individual championships will be announced Wednesday, May 11.

Match times will be posted on bearsports.wustl.edu when they become available.