The UCSB Men will play Georgia Tech in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on Friday, May 13 at Marks Stadium on the University of Southern California campus, the NCAA announced Tuesday. The match between the Gauchos and Yellow Jackets will begin at 2 p.m.
UCSB, which defeated Cal Poly in a 4-1 league tournament championship match last Saturday, will be entering the tournament for the second straight year. USC, which is seeded 10th overall, will host UNLV in the other first round match in at Marks Stadium.
Santa Barbara enters the postseason with a 17-6 record and ranked No. 46 while Georgia Tech, ranked 33rd, is 16-8 overall after losing to North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
The Gauchos enter the NCAA Tournament having won eight consecutive matches and 11 of their last 13.
The Big West championship was the program’s 10th and the NCAA tournament appearance is the 12th.
“It’s been 20 years since the Gauchos reached the NCAA Sweet 16, but this team is capable of matching the historic run made by our 1996 squad,” coach Marty Davis said. “After playing an extremely tough schedule in the early season, we’re not a team that should be intimidated by anyone.”
The winner of the match between Santa Barbara and Georgia Tech will play the winner of the USC-UNLV match at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 14.