FLORENCE, S.C. – Both the Francis Marion University men's and women's tennis teams learned Thursday that they have earned invitations to participate in the NCAA Division II Tournament. This marks the Patriot men's 11th trip to the NCAAs in the past 12 years, and the women's sixth trip during that span, but the first since 1999.
The 62-team women's field consists of 16 regional tournaments, while the men's 56-team field also includes 16 regional sites. Both FMU squads will play in the Savannah, Ga., Regional, May 4-5, at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Each regional winner will advance to the national finals, May 10-13, in Kansas City, Mo.
The 18-2 Patriot men, who are ranked eighth in the latest national Top 40 poll, will play 24th-ranked Anderson University (17-4) on Thursday, May 4, at 4 p.m. Seventh-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State (16-6) will face unranked Shaw University (16-0) in the other first-round match. The two winners will meet on May 5 at 1 p.m.
The 19-5 FMU women, who are ranked 11th nationally, will play 13th-ranked Georgia College & State University (15-8) on Thursday, May 4, at 11 a.m. The other women's first-round match pits top-ranked and defending national champion AASU (25-0) against unranked Shaw (15-1). The winners will play on May 5 at 10 a.m.
The Patriots are under the direction of 14th-year head coach Garth Thomson, who has amassed a 208-95 men's record and a 157-132 women's mark. He recently earned "Coach of the Year" honors for both sports following the Peach Belt Conference regular season. The women's 19 victories is a school record, while the men's 18 wins equals the school mark.
Altogether six PBC men's and six women's teams earned invitations to the Division II national tournament.
