RADFORD NOTES
LIVE STATS
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL PAGE
INTERACTIVE BRACKET

Coming off its fourth Big South title in five years, Radford will take on host and No. 3 Tennessee (21-4) in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Barksdale Tennis Stadium.

The winner of the Highlanders' first-round matchup will advance to the round of 32 (May 14) to face the victor of the dual between second-seeded Vanderbilt and third-seeded Virginia Tech.

Radford will be making its second trip to the Knoxville Regional in as many appearances as the Highlanders met then-ranked No. 23 Duke in 2009.

Ranked 64th in the most recent ITA Rankings, the Highlanders defeated top-seeded Winthrop (April 23) in the 2011 Big South Championship to earn their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history.

Winners of a school-record 18-straight matches, Radford (22-3) has outscored the opposition by a combined 102-18 margin dating back to its March 5 dual at Elon.

In addition to their new school standard for victories in a single season, the Highlanders have been nationally ranked four consecutive seasons and have won 47 of their last 52 matches (includes tournament) against league competition.

Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia / Oroslavje Secondary School), who will make his second straight NCAA Singles Championship appearance thanks to his national ranking of 124, leads the club with a 31-5 record, which includes a 20-2 mark at the top spot this spring.

Along with Salec's outstanding play, Stijn Meulemans (Belgium / KA2 sportschool Hasselt) and sophomore Thomas Dehaen (Zwevegem, Belgium / Middenjury) enter the first round on 20 and 17-match winning streaks, respectively, while Big South Freshman of the Year Nick Sayer (Hong Kong, Hong Kong / Cams Hill School) is 18-3 in 2011.

As a team, the Highlanders, who have collected 13 conference weekly honors this spring, are 114-28 (.803) in singles play and 51-22 (.699) in the doubles competition.

The third-ranked Vols have made 21 previous appearances in the NCAAs since 1979 and have a 34-21 record in the national tournament. Tennessee has yet to win a national title in tennis but has three final appearances: 1990, 2001 and 2010.

The Knoxville Regional winner advances to the 2011 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at The Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., on the campus of Stanford University May 19-24.