UDC Men’s Tennis Earns NCAA Tournament Bid; Firebirds a No. 7 Seed in East Regional
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of the District of Columbia men's tennis team earned a bid to compete in the NCAA Division II Tournament as a No. 7 seed in the East Regional Tournament hosted by NYIT on the campus of LIU Post.
The Firebirds (8-8), who have played two Division I teams and seven different regionally ranked opponents this season, will square off for the second time this season against East Coast Conference champion and No. 2 seed, NYIT. The match will be played Saturday, May 2nd at 3 p.m. at LIU Post Tennis Courts.
The winner of the UDC vs. NYIT match will face the winner of the No. 6 Adelphi vs. No. 3 Merrimack Round 1 matchup on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Round of 16.
UDC features First Team All-ECC senior Simon Andersson and a talented bunch of freshmen including ECC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-ECC selection, Diego Pinto.
The Firebirds have now earned NCAA Tournament bids in three of the last four seasons under head coach T. Richard "Dickie" Mahaffey, III. The last time UDC met NYIT in the NCAA Tournament was April 30th, 2012, when the No. 3 Firebirds cruised to a 5-1 victory over the No. 6 Bears in the First Round. UDC is 1-2 in NCAA Tournament play under Mahaffey.