NORFOLK, Va. – The South Carolina State men’s and the Bethune-Cookman women’s tennis teams were selected to compete in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, Friday, May 8, the NCAA Selection Committee announced on Tuesday from Indianapolis.
South Carolina State was the regular season southern divisional champion and received the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) automatic qualification to the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship. The Lady Wildcats reached the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship by receiving the conference’s automatic qualifier after defeating South Carolina State, 4-0, in the MEAC tournament.
The Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats (22-6) will face host institution Florida (21-3), who received the fifth seed in the 64-team draw, Friday, May 8, in the NCAA Regional contest, beginning at 3 p.m.
This will be the first meeting between Bethune-Cookman and Florida since the Lady Gators claimed a 4-0 victory in 2001.
Bethune-Cookman, winners of 19 of its last 20 matches, is making its third appearance in the NCAA Championships and the first since 2001.
On the men’s side, Duke (22-6) lost in the ACC quarterfinals to North Carolina and will meet South Carolina State for the second time.
The Bulldogs (15-4), winners of eight straight MEAC championships, will take on the 10th-seeded Duke Blue Devils. This is the second meeting between the two schools since 2005, with Duke defeating South Carolina State, 4-0, at the NCAA Regional in Durham, N.C.
The Bulldogs will take to the court on Friday, May 8, beginning at 1 p.m., at the Ambler Tennis Stadium.