TOLEDO, OH - The University of Toledo will host the 2012 Mid-American Conference men's tennis tournament this week, from Thursday, April 26 through Saturday, April 28. Being held at the UT Varsity Tennis Courts, adjacent to the Glass Bowl, quarterfinal rounds will be played on Thursday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with semifinals taking place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, followed by the championship match on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Rockets (15-11, 1-4 MAC) enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play their quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 Ball State at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will take on No. 1 Buffalo on Friday at 10 a.m.
The Toledo-Ball State matchup is a rematch of last year's championship match, with BSU picking up the 4-1 victory on the campus of Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, MI. The two teams met earlier this season in Muncie, IN, with the Cardinals taking a narrow 4-3 victory on April 12.
UT closed its regular-season schedule with a 6-1 home loss to Western Michigan on Sunday, April 22. It was the team's first loss at home for the entire 2011-12 season, as it had accumulated an 11-0 mark to that point, including indoor and outdoor competition.
All MAC teams competing in the tournament are seeded as follows: (1) Buffalo; (2) Northern Illinois; (3) Western Michigan; (4) Ball State; (5) Toledo; (6) Chicago State.
In Thursday's other quarterfinal matchup, No. 3 Western Michigan (14-11; 3-2 MAC) will face off against No. 6 Chicago State (0-25, 0-5 MAC) at 10 a.m. The tournament's top-seed, Buffalo, earned the spot after going 4-1 in conference play, with a 10-9 record overall. Second-seed Northern Illinois (21-6, 4-1 MAC) also qualified for a first-round bye, but missed out on the one-seed via tie-breaker, as Buffalo won the head-to-head matchup, 5-2, on April 15.
In the event of inclement weather, tournament play will be moved to Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Maumee, Ohio, the official indoor home of Toledo Tennis. Shadow Valley is located at 1661 S. Holland Sylvania, near St. John's Jesuit High School.
For more information on the tournament and for results throughout the competition, follow UTRockets.com.
Contact: Brad Pettiford
E-Mail: brad.pettiford@utoledo.edu
