April 30, 2008

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Furman Paladin men's tennis team will face Tennessee in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's tennis tournament, the NCAA announced today.

#69 Furman (16-10) will take on #8 Tennessee (21-3) on Saturday, May 10 at 11:00 a.m. eastern time in Knoxville, Tenn. The two teams met earlier this year in the Paladins' first match of the season, with Tennessee earning a 7-0 win.

Furman earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 4-1 victory over Elon in the Southern Conference tournament finals. Tennessee earned an at-large bid, after falling to Ole Miss in the semifinals of the SEC tournament.

The Tennessee squad features three ranked singles players as well as one ranked doubles team. Freshman J.P. Smith leads the team with a 24th-place ranking, while senior Kaden Hensel is ranked 35th and freshman Boris Conkic is ranked 93rd in the latest ITA poll. The doubles team of Smith/Hensel is ranked 4th in the country.

2008 marks the Paladins' second trip to the NCAA tournament in the last three years, and third trip in the history of the program.