THE TOC CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE IS ON…

Written by: Staff on 12th April 2013

THE TOC CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE IS ON... |

THE TOC CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE IS ON: FIELD NARROWED FROM 64 TO 16 ON DAY ONE AT SURPRISE TENNIS & RACQUET COMPLEX

Opening Day:

Opening day of the 2013 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex blew by, narrowing the field of 64 to 16 contenders for the ultimate prize in the Gold Division. Each team played three matches on the day following World TeamTennis format; 16 teams advanced through pool play, keeping their eyes on the prize. All other teams advanced into the Silver, Bronze and Copper Brackets. Gold bracket teams include:

University of California – Berkeley – Advanced over: Oakland University (30-4), University of Maryland (19-16), and Stony Brook University (30-6)

University of Virginia – Advanced over: Valley City State University (30-2), LoneStar College – CyFair (29-14), and University of California – Santa Barbara (30-10)

Duke University – Advanced over: Southern Methodist University (30-18), DePaul University (30-6), and University of Oregon (25-21)

Texas A&M University – Advanced over: Tufts University (30-9), Utah ValleyUniversity (30-7), and Washington University (30-13)

University of Georgia – Advanced over: Purdue University (28-18), BrighamYoung University (26-17), and University of Texas at San Antonio (30-14)

Baylor University – Advanced over: University of Delaware (30-5), DartmouthUniversity (25-24), and Arizona State University (26-21)

University of Oklahoma – Advanced over: College of Charleston (22-19), HarvardUniversity (23-22), and New Mexico State University (28-20)

University of Florida – Advanced over: Auburn University (29-18), South DakotaState University (30-7), and University of Cincinnati (28-15)

UCLA – Advanced over: St. Louis University (30-10), Texas State University – San Marcos (25-19), and Georgetown University (30-13)

University of Texas at Austin – Advanced over: University of Wisconsin (24-20),University of Pennsylvania (27-20), and Columbia University (30-14)

Cornell University – Advanced over: Villanova (30-13), University of California –Davis (29-18), and University of Northern Colorado (22-16)

University of Arizona – Advanced over: Louisiana State University (20-19),Boston College (24-23), and Northwestern University (22-21)

University of Washington – Advanced over: University of Minnesota (25-19),University of California – San Diego (26-24), and Kennesaw State University (27-12)

Stanford University – Advanced over: Emory University (28-13), GeorgeWashington University (29-11), and North Dakota State University (28-11)

University of Central Florida – Advanced over: Virginia Tech (25-14), WesternWashington University (30-19), and Pennsylvania State University (25-20)

University of Michigan – Advanced over: St. Mary’s College of California (30-12),Texas Tech University (29-17), and UNC – Chapel Hill (30-9)

Newcomers:

This season, there are seven Tennis On Campus National Championship first-timers: DePaulUniversity, Emory University, George Washington University, Kennesaw State, Saint Mary’sCollege of California, South Dakota State University and Valley City State University. All of the clubs’ earned their schools’ first-ever bids to the national tournament based on their performance at USTA sectionals. SDSU gets extra bragging rights. The club earned a National bid in their flagship year as a campus club; an accomplishment not to be taken lightly.

Family Matters:

Sibling rivalry is alive and well at Tennis On Campus Nationals. Several teams have siblings playing together, but the real fun starts when families square-off across the net. Sisters Grace (UCLA) and Amy (UCSD) Lin did just that in the USTA SoCal Sectionals. The girls faced-off in a nail-biting final in mixed doubles. UCLA came out on top, but UCSD is ready to take another crack at their SoCal rival on the national stage.

Lead By Example:

USTA Tennis On Campus Club of the Year, North Dakota State University will be honored April 13, 2013 by the USTA for its exemplary dedication to the sport of tennis and a commitment to community service initiatives. The honor brought with it an automatic bid to the 2013 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship. The team will be presented with its award on Saturday, April 13.

Leader of the Year, Michael Lynch of the University of Illinois, will be honored at the Tennis On Campus Spring Invitational event in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday, April 14.

Defending Their Title:

The University of California – Berkeley is back and looking to make yet another statement. They won it all in 2010 and last season in 2012, and are looking to do it again. The club is documenting their road to another championship. Check out their daily TOC Nationals Blog here: Title Talk.

Familiarize With The Field:

The 2013 Tennis On Campus National Championship is live and ongoing in Surprise, Ariz., and USTA.com covers the teams that have qualified on the road to the desert in these exclusive Q&A sessions:

University of Texas – Austin

New Mexico State University

University of Florida

Western Washington University

University of Oregon

University of California – Los Angeles

Stanford University

Purdue University

Lone Star College – CyFair

Virginia Tech