TOP-SEEDED MEN’S TENNIS SET TO DEFEND BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT TITLE

RADFORD, Va. – Winners of four of the last five tournament crowns, top-seeded Radford will begin its title defense Thursday morning with an 8:30 a.m. dual against Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the 2012 Big South Men's Tennis Championships at the Asheville Racquet Club.

“It is an honor to be the top seed in this very competitive conference,” commented head coach Mike Anderson. “Each of the men's teams are capable of pulling an upset, so we'll have to play our best to advance.”

The winner of the Highlanders' quarterfinal match will advance to face the victor of the contest between fourth-seeded Campbell and fifth-seeded Winthrop on Friday at 10 a.m.

Radford, which is 75^th in the latest ITA National Rankings, enters 17-5 overall, while going undefeated in conference play for the fourth time in the last seven years.

Since 2006, the Highlanders are 41-3 in Big South play and have won 55 of their last 61 against league competition, which includes a 14-3 mark in tournament matches.

2011 Big South Freshman of the Year, Nicholas Sayer, leads Radford with a 28-10 record at the top singles position. Named Player of the Week four times in 2012, Sayer is currently 105^th in the ITA Singles Rankings.

Like Sayer, Thomas Dehaen and Stijn Meulemans have hit the 20-win plateau this season, while Meulemans and Joe Mills finished the conference slate a perfect 7-0 at their respective singles positions.

As a team, the Highlanders are 95-32 in spring singles matches, including a 36-6 record in Big South play.

“We continue to get better each time we step on the courts and I feel like we are peaking at the right time. We will just have to put on our Radford colors, grab our racquets and see what happens. It should be good fun,” said Anderson.

2012 Big South Men's Tennis Championships
April 19-21, 2012
Asheville Racquet Club (Asheville, N.C.)

Thursday, April 19 - Quarterfinals
MATCH 1: No. 1 Radford vs. No. 8 Gardner-Webb, 8:30 AM
MATCH 2: No. 4 Campbell vs. No. 5 Winthrop, not before 10:30 AM
MATCH 3: No. 2 UNC Asheville vs. No. 7 Presbyterian College, 1:30 PM
MATCH 4: No. 3 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 6 Liberty, not before 3:30 PM

Friday, April 20 - Semifinals
MATCH 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 10:00 AM
MATCH 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 1:00 PM

Saturday, April 21 - Championship
MATCH 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 1:00 PM

Schedule subject to change

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