Both the UC Irvine men and women found out their opponent and destination when the bracket for the 2010 NCAA Tennis Championships were revealed Tuesday.
The men are staying close to home as head coach Trevor Kronemann's Anteaters were placed in a subregional with host UCLA, Sacramento State and first round opponent California. The 'Eaters will face the Golden Bears on Saturday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Ninth-seeded UCLA and Sacramento State meet in the other first match at noon. The two winners square off in a second round match on Sunday, May 16 at 1:00 p.m.
UCI (17-11) won the Big West Tournament championship last weekend in Indian Wells, defeating UC Riverside, Pacific and Cal Poly to secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA's. It was the program's 13th conference tournament title overall and first since 2005.
The Anteaters are making their 10th appearance in the NCAA Championship. The most recent trip was in 2005. Other previous tournament berths took place in 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996 and 1997. UCI met Cal in postseason play on one other occasion - 1995 - losing to the Golden Bears in the second round.
On the heels of winning its first Big West Tournament championship, the UC Irvine women's team is traveling much further to its competition site than the men. The Anteaters were sent to Atlanta, Ga. to play Mississippi in the first round on Friday, May 14 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The match will take place at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the campus of Georgia Tech.
The host and No. 14-seeded Yellow Jackets face Austin Peay in the other first round match. The two winning teams battle in second round action on Saturday.
This is UCI's second trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters made their initial appearance in 2007 as an at-large team and lost to Texas in the first round. UCI captured the Big West automatic bid to the NCAA's after defeating Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State at Indian Wells last weekend.
Teams that advance through regional play will move on to the NCAA Round of 16, May 20-26 in Athens, Ga.
NCAA MEN'S TENNIS REGIONAL SCHEDULE
May 15-16 at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center
Saturday, May 15
UC Irvine (17-11) vs. California (12-7) - 9:00 a.m.
Sacramento State (17-11) at UCLA (14-6) - 12:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 16
Second Round - 1:00 p.m.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS REGIONAL SCHEDULE
May 14-15 at Georgia Tech's Bill Moore Tennis Center
Friday, May 14
UC Irvine (13-10) vs. Mississippi (15-5) - 7:00 a.m.
Austin Peay (18-3) at Georgia Tech (18-9) - 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 15
Second Round - 10:00 a.m.
All Times Pacific