Match Notes

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i men's tennis team travels to Los Angeles for the opening two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships. The Rainbow Warriors will face 20th-ranked Oklahoma State Friday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m. PT (7:00 a.m. HT) in a first-round matchup at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

 

Host UCLA (17-4) will face Southern Illinois (18-6), the Missouri Valley Conference champions, in the site's other first-round match at 1:00 pm. The winners advance to the regional final on Saturday, May 9 at 3:00 p.m.

The Rainbow Warriors (10-9) are making their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. UH fell to 13th-ranked Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., in a first-round contest last year. UH, winners of five of its last six matches, earned another automatic berth into this year's tournament following its 4-2 win over Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference title match on Sunday, April 26.

The Rainbow Warriors are currently at No. 49 in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis rankings, a program high. UH is led by first-team all-conference selection Dennis Lajola and second-team selections Sascha Heinemann and Andreas Weber. The trio have combined for a 34-15 dual match record, including 12 straight wins by Heinemann, one of two seniors on the squad.

First- and second-round competition will be conducted, May 8-10, with the winner of each site advancing to the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, held May 14-19.

 

 

What: NCAA Men's Tennis Regionals

Who: No. 49 Hawai`i (10-9) vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State (14-7)

Date: Friday, May 8

Time: 10:00 a.m. PDT

Where: Los Angeles Tennis Center

Live Stats: Available at UCLABruins.com

Ticket Prices: $7 for adults and $5 for youth/students (w/valid ID).

Series: UH is 1-4 all-time vs. Oklahoma State, 0-1 vs. UCLA and 1-1 vs. Southern Illinois.