2009 NCAA Championship Central
NCAA Tournament Bracket
2009 Radford Postseason Guide
Live Stats
RADFORD, Va. – After nearly three weeks away from action, third-seeded Radford returns to the courts Friday at 11 a.m. against second-seeded Duke in the opening round of 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament at the Goodfriend Tennis Center Varsity Courts on the University of Tennessee campus. The match has been moved indoors due to the rain in the Knoxville area.
The second match of the Knoxville Regional will feature No. 5 Tennessee (21-6) and East Tennessee State (13-7). The winners of the first round matches face off Saturday at 3 p.m. with the victor moving on to the NCAA Team Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, May 14-19.
Ranked 51st in the most recent ITA Rankings, the Highlanders defeated second-seeded Winthrop (April 18) in the 2009 Big South Championship to earn their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in as many years.
Radford (20-3), which is 5-3 against teams currently ranked in the Top 100, has won seven straight (five shutouts) and 13 of its last 14 to post its third 20-win season in school-history.
Along with climbing to a school and conference-best 46th in the national rankings earlier this year, the Highlanders have won four-straight regular season titles, 42 of their last 46 regular season matches, while losing just one Big South dual in the last four years.
With its win over James Madison to close the regular season, Radford ran its home winning streak to 34 consecutive.
Four-time Big South Player of the Year
Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual) is currently ranked 96th in singles play nationally, while Sayer and
Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) are 54th in the nation in doubles.
Along with Sayer receiving a singles invite for the fourth straight year, Radford's top doubles team of Sayer and Watson became the first duo in school history to earn an at-large selection to the 2009 NCAA Doubles Championships.
As a team, the Highlanders are 99-29 (.773) in singles and 53-11 (.828) in doubles play. Through 23 matches, Radford has won the doubles point 20 times, including 18 of its last 20 matches.
The Blue Devils come in with a 15-8 overall record and are ranked 23rd in the country.
Each team will play a single-elimination tournament at 16 first-and second-round sites (four teams at each site) and the finals site (16-team bracket) to determine the national champion. The matches will be regulation dual matches with three (3) eight-game, pro-set doubles played for one team point, followed by six (6) singles matches, each valued at one team point, played best of three sets. Regular scoring will be used and a 12-point tiebreaker will be played at eight games all in doubles and at six games all in singles.
Live results and the tournament central web page can be found at www.utsports.com.
NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Schedule
First Round - Friday, May 8
10 a.m. - No. 51 Radford vs. No. 23 Duke
1 p.m. - No. 61 East Tennessee State vs. No. 5 Tennessee
Second Round - Saturday, May 9
3 p.m. - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Knoxville NCAA Tennis Regional Ticket Information
General admission tickets will be $5. Student tickets will be $3 with ID.
Children 2 and under will be admitted free of charge.
Tickets will be sold as single day admissions and pass outs will be allowed.
Tickets may be purchased the day of the match at the gate. No advance tickets will be sold.
Gates will open one hour prior to the beginning of the match.
