By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
MALIBU,
Calif. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The
Green Bay men's tennis team will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance on
Friday when it faces No. 7 Pepperdine at 4 p.m. CT in Malibu, Calif., at the
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
The Phoenix and the Waves will square off in the
second of two first-round contests in Malibu on Friday, as No. 28 Washington
and No. 38 North Carolina State are slated to play first at 1 p.m. CT. The two winners
will battle on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the right to head to Athens, Ga., for the
remainder of the NCAA Tournament.
Green Bay arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon
and practiced on Pepperdine's campus in preparation for Friday's match. To
watch a video with player interviews from Wednesday's practice, click
here. To view a photo gallery, click
here.
NCAA
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: For more information on the
Pepperdine regional, including details on all four participating teams, visit
the Tournament
Central page on PepperdineSports.com
FOLLOW IT
LIVE: Live scores will be available
for the Green Bay vs. Pepperdine match, which can be accessed here.
Fans can also track the match and everything leading up to it by following @GBPhoenix and @RyanHartwig on Twitter and by
visiting the Green Bay Phoenix
Facebook page.
SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: The Waves went 23-6 this season and won
the West Coast Conference Tournament by defeating No. 25 San Diego 4-1 in the
championship match on April 28. The win marked the school's 42nd WCC title
since 1958. Pepperdine has now won
20 consecutive dual matches, which is tied for the longest win streak in program
history. The Waves are led by 10th-year
head coach Adam Steinberg - winner of the 2006 NCAA Coach of the Year award after
leading his team to the school's first national championship. For more on
Pepperdine, click
here.
ROAD TO THE
TOURNAMENT: The Phoenix earned an
automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by winning
the 2012 Horizon League Championship - the first conference title in school
history. No. 2 Green Bay defeated fourth-seeded Cleveland State 4-1 on April 29,
ending the Vikings' run of four straight conference championships.
Fourth-year head coach Mark Thomas and Green Bay registered a school-record 19 wins in
2012, going 19-6 overall 6-1 in the Horizon League. The Phoenix had a league-best
three All-Horizon League selections, as senior Paul Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and freshman Michael Tenzer (Neuried, Germany) were named to the first team and
junior Erik Finkenbrink (Duelman,
Germany) picked up second team honors.
SELECTION
EXCITEMENT: The Phoenix gathered at
The Bar on Lime Kiln in Green Bay last Tuesday to watch the NCAA.com selection
show to find out its opponent in the school's first NCAA Tournament. For more
on the selection show, including a video of the team's reaction, click
here.
VIDEO: First Practice at Pepperdine
###
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics and Green
Bay Men's Tennis, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix and @RyanHartwig
Like Green Bay Phoenix Athletics on Facebook.
