MEN’S TENNIS DRAWS OKLAHOMA STATE, TRAVELS TO STILLWATER FOR NCAA FIRST ROUND MATCHUP

5/1/2007

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the first time since the 2003 season, the Sacramento State men’s tennis team will appear in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced by the NCAA selection committee today.

The Hornets, who earned an automatic berth into the tournament by virtue of winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament title last weekend, will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face eighth-ranked Oklahoma State in the first round on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m. CDT.

Oklahoma State (17-4) is hosting an NCAA Regional for the third straight year, as the other Stillwater first-round matchup will feature 26th-ranked Oklahoma and 40th-ranked Cal on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winners of both matches will meet in the second round on Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m. CDT. All matches will be played at the DeBois Tennis Center on the Oklahoma State campus.

Sacramento State (20-5), which defeated Eastern Washington, 4-0, in the Big Sky championship match on Sunday, has won three straight and 16 of its last 18 matches. The team will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since joining the Div. I ranks in 1991-92, with other appearances coming in 1999, and 2001-03. In addition, the Hornets have now won six Big Sky titles in the last 10 years (1998-99, 2001-03, 2007).

Oklahoma State is seeded No. 8 in the tournament, the best ever for the program. The Cowboys are making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with 2007 marking the program’s 15th overall appearance.

In the Hornets’ previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the team has lost in the first round at Stanford (1999), at UCLA (2001), at Stanford (2002) and at Cal (2003). Sacramento State has drawn the regional host all five times when reaching the NCAA Tournament.