April 30, 2008

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DENVER, COLO. - Metro State (16-6), the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's tennis co-regular season and tournament champion, faces conference foe Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, May 9, at 1 p.m., at Southwest Baptist University, the NCAA announced Wednesday afternoon.

"We're excited to have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament," said Roadrunner head coach Dave Alden. "We have worked very hard and are going into the tournament with a lot of confidence. We are playing our best tennis at the right time of the year."

The Roadrunners, which have won nine straight, earned one of 12 automatic bids by defeating UNK in the RMAC tournament championship match and now play the Lopers for the third time this season. The two teams, which shared the RMAC regular-season crown, split two previous meetings with the Lopers winning in Denver, April 5, before the Roadrunners earned a 5-2 decision in the finals of the RMAC Tournament this past weekend. It is also the second consecutive season the two teams have met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Metro State defeated the Lopers, 5-2, a year ago before losing to Washburn in the second round.

The host, Southwest Baptist, takes on Truman in the other first-round match. The two first-round winners will meet May 10.

The North Central region is divided into two pods, with four teams at Northwest Missouri State and four teams at Southwest Baptist. At Northwest Missouri State, the Bearcats (15-5) face Emporia State (9-8), while Washburn (12-6) takes on St. Cloud State (16-9).

The NCAA first and second rounds are held at 16 different sites from May 8-10. Each site winner heads to Houston, Texas, May 14-17, for the remainder of the tournament.

Lynn is the defending men's NCAA champion.

2008 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament

North Central Region at Southwest Baptist
Metro State (16-6) vs. Nebraska-Kearney (11-5), 1 p.m.
Southwest Baptist (12-5) vs. Truman (13-7), 1 p.m.

North Central Region at Northwest Missouri State
Northwest Missouri State (15-5) vs. Emporia State (9-8)
Washburn (12-6) vs. St. Cloud State (16-9)