Men?s Tennis Hosts UMBC In NCAA Championship First Round At Ambler Stadium Friday

DURHAM, N.C. - The 14th-ranked Duke men's tennis team will begin NCAA Tournament play on its own courts on Friday, as the 14th-seeded Blue Devils will meet UMBC at 10 a.m. in a first round matchup. Live stats will be available at www.GoDuke.com.

No. 51 East Tennessee State (23-4) and No. 17 Alabama (20-7) will play an opening round match at Ambler Stadium at 1 p.m., with the winners of the two first round matches set to meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The winner of that match will advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga.

The Blue Devils (15-9) are coming off a narrow 4-2 loss to Florida State in an ACC Championship quarterfinal matchup on April 20. In the loss, juniors David Goulet and Alex Stone each posted a singles win to put points on the board for the Blue Devils.

UMBC brings an overall record of 15-5 into the 2007 NCAA Tournament, as the Retrievers entered the bracket on the strength of an America East Conference Championship. Duke and UMBC will meet for the first time ever on Friday.

Duke owns an all-time record of 31-16 in the NCAA Tournament and is making its 16th consecutive and 17th overall appearance in the championships this season. In 2006, Duke began opening round competition on its own courts and advanced to the round of 16 in Stanford, Calif., on the strength of a 4-0 win over Winthrop and a 4-2 victory over Boise State. The Blue Devils fell in the round of 16 to Stanford by way of a 4-0 decision.

Tickets for first and second round matches are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors, and can be purchased one hour before the first match at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

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