Big West-champion UC Santa Barbara will play No. 28 Mississippi in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament on Friday, May 12 at the Sunset Recreation Center on the campus of UCLA, the NCAA announced Tuesday. The match between the Gauchos and Rebels will begin at 10 a.m.
“Being an SEC school, we don’t know too much about Ole Miss,” said UCSB head coach Marty Davis. “They’re in a very competitive conference, and they’re ranked in the top-30. We haven’t lost to a team ranked below No. 21 this season, so that’s how we’re going to look at it.”
UCSB, which defeated Cal Poly in a 4-1 league tournament championship match on Sunday, will be entering the tournament for the third straight year. UCLA, which is seeded fifth overall, will host Army West Point in the other first round match at the Sunset Recreation Center.
Santa Barbara enters the postseason with a 19-5 record while Ole Miss is 16-9 overall after losing to Florida in the SEC Championship. The Gauchos were tabbed as the No. 40 in the country in the latest ITA rankings.
The Gauchos enter the NCAA Tournament having won a school-record 12 consecutive matches, while their 19-5 overall mark is the best for the program since 1988. Four of the team’s five losses have come against top-10 opponents.
This year’s Big West championship was the program’s 11th overall and 10th under Davis, while this NCAA appearance marks the 13th for UCSB under Davis.
“UCLA is a place we’ve played before this season, so we’re familiar with the surroundings and the courts,” said Davis. “It’ll be a much shorter trip for us than Ole Miss so it’s a good draw for us. We’re used to going to the NCAA Tournament, so at this point the ultimate goal is to win a couple rounds and end up in the Sweet Sixteen in Athens, Ga.”
The winner of the match between Santa Barbara and Ole Miss will play the winner of the UCLA-Army West Point match on Saturday, May 13 at 1:00 p.m.