Spring Break
Men's tennis team earns another NCAA Tournament berth
Chris Dell, Staff Writer, cdell@smu.edu
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
The SMU men's tennis team earned its 11th NCAA Tournament berth in 12 years Tuesday. The NCAA selection committee announced that the No. 40-ranked Mustangs will face No. 25 Texas A&M May 10 in Waco. The winner will face the Baylor-Oral Roberts winner May 11.
The Mustangs had to sweat for more than a week before learning that they would be included in the field of 64.
After a loss to Rice in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships on April 19, it was unclear whether the Mustangs, then ranked No. 47, would be selected for the NCAA's. Last year they finished the season at No. 48 and were left out.
However, the selection committee could not deny the Mustangs two years in a row. SMU (20-8) finished with its best record since 2001.
"I'm really excited about our season and the way we've progressed," said head coach Carl Neufeld in a statement on SMUMustangs.com. "Our goal is always to play our best tennis at the end of the season. I'm excited about the chance to play in the national championship and see just how good we've become."
The tournament announcement came on the heels of the news that three of the Mustangs' singles players had been selected for the All-Conference teams.
No. 2 Robin Fahgen was named First Team All-Conference. He finished the season ranked No. 112, the fifth highest-rated singles player in the conference.
No. 1 David Kuczer and No. 3 Alex Skrypko earned second-team honors. Both are seniors.
The Mustangs had to sweat for more than a week before learning that they would be included in the field of 64.
After a loss to Rice in the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships on April 19, it was unclear whether the Mustangs, then ranked No. 47, would be selected for the NCAA's. Last year they finished the season at No. 48 and were left out.
However, the selection committee could not deny the Mustangs two years in a row. SMU (20-8) finished with its best record since 2001.
"I'm really excited about our season and the way we've progressed," said head coach Carl Neufeld in a statement on SMUMustangs.com. "Our goal is always to play our best tennis at the end of the season. I'm excited about the chance to play in the national championship and see just how good we've become."
The tournament announcement came on the heels of the news that three of the Mustangs' singles players had been selected for the All-Conference teams.
No. 2 Robin Fahgen was named First Team All-Conference. He finished the season ranked No. 112, the fifth highest-rated singles player in the conference.
No. 1 David Kuczer and No. 3 Alex Skrypko earned second-team honors. Both are seniors.
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