Bears Take on the Seminoles in Gainesville, Fla., on May 10.
California Team Page
BERKELEY - Eighteenth-ranked California (14-9) will make its 14th-straight appearance in the postseason when it faces No. 34 Florida State (18-10) on Friday, May 10, in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Championships held at the University of Florida, the NCAA announced on Tuesday. The Golden Bears battle the Seminoles - for the first time in a dual match - at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
"We're excited about traveling to Florida for the first two rounds," Wright said. "Florida State is a dangerous team, and we know we're in for a battle. This will be our first trip to Gainesville in over 25 years, and we know this will be a physical match, as the conditions will be different than what we have in Berkeley. We've been playing at a very high level lately, and we'll need to continue to build on our success going into the NCAAs."
The field at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla., will also include host, 15th-ranked and 15th-seeded Florida taking on Denver on May 10. The first-round winners will play in the second round at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on May 11 for the right to advance to the May 16-21 NCAA Championships in Urbana, Ill.
The NCAA tournament field includes 64 teams - including 31 automatic qualifiers and 33 at-large teams - and 16 first- and second-round sites.
An at-large entrant to NCAAs - with a 30-30 all-time postseason record - Cal will make its 32nd NCAA appearance on May 10. Under head coach Peter Wright, Cal has earned 19 postseason bids in 20 years and has advanced as far as the national quarterfinals (2003) with five additional appearances in the round of 16 (1995, 1998, 2001, 2011 and 2012).
The Bears split their matches at the recent Pac-12 Championships, beating No. 74 Utah, 5-0, on April 25 and losing to No. 5 USC, 4-1, on April 26.
Cal is one of five Pac-12 teams in the NCAA Championships field, including top-seeded and Pac-12 champion UCLA, fourth-seeded and four-time defending NCAA champ USC, Stanford and Washington.
NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
The announcement of the participants for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be held on Wednesday, May 1, with the names of the student-athletes selected posted to NCAA.com no later than 3 p.m. PT.
Cal's potential NCAA qualifiers in singles are No. 33 Ben McLachlan (junior), No. 62 Campbell Johnson (junior) and No. 82 Christoffer Konigsfeldt (senior co-captain). The Cal doubles teams of No. 32 Johnson/Konigsfeldt and No. 66 Ben McLachlan and freshman Mads Engsted area also possible entrants in the NCAA doubles tournament.
Scouting Florida State
• FSU has lost three of its last four matches, including a 4-0 loss to Duke in an ACC quarterfinal on April 26
• Sophomore Dominic Cotrone is ranked No. 109 by the ITA
• FSU has three ranked doubles teams: No. 17 Cotrone/junior Blake Davis, No. 61 sophomore Benjamin Lock/senior Andres Bucaro and No. 83 Bucaro/freshman Michael Rinaldi
• Florida State is making its 11th-straight appearance - and 15th overall - at NCAAs
• The Seminoles have a 13-13 all-time postseason record
Last Year at the NCAA Championships
The 14th-seeded California men's tennis team (14-12) fell, 4-0, to third-seeded and No. 2-ranked Virginia (27-1) in the round of 16 of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships on the Henry Field Courts of the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on May 18 in Athens, Ga. The Golden Bears had advanced to the round of 16 for the sixth time under head coach Peter Wright and were facing 2011 NCAA runner-up Virginia for the first time in program history.
Next Time
The teams that survive the opening weekend of NCAAs will advance to the NCAA Championships that run from May 16-21 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill. For information on the NCAA Championships, including ticket details, history and more, please visit NCAA.com.
