May 5, 2004

FORT WORTH, Texas

2004 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Bracket in PDF Format
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The 16th-rated and 16-6 TCU men's tennis team will take on the champions of the Southern Conference and No. 67-ranked East Tennessee State (20-5) in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky. The University of Kentucky (18-9) is serving as one of 16 first- and second-round hosts for the tourney. The Wildcats, ranked 11th, face the champions of the Horizon League, Butler (15-6), in the opening round. First-round matches will be played Saturday, May 15 and the winners will meet Sunday, May 16. Times have yet to be determined.

The Frogs are making their 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 19th overall. The Purple and White owns a record of 23-18 in NCAA play and has advanced as far as the national semifinals on three occasions (1989, 1996, 2001). Last year, the Horned Frogs defeated SMU in the initial round, 4-1, and fell to Baylor, 4-0, in the second round in Waco, Texas.

TCU has little history with ETSU, Butler and Kentucky, having never faced the Buccaneers or Bulldogs. The Horned Frogs and Wildcats have five meetings and TCU owns a 4-1 edge. Two of their match-ups have come at national events in which the Frogs have made a run at the championship. The first came in the 1989 NCAA Tournament Round of 16 when the Purple and White made its unexpected run to the Final Four in Athens, Ga. The Horned Frogs won by a 5-2 tally and then proceeded to stun UCLA, 5-4, before falling to Georgia, 5-1, in the semis. TCU last faced Kentucky in the round of 16 at the 1992 National Team Indoor Championships and registered a 5-4 triumph. The Horned Frogs then upended UCLA, 4-2, and Notre Dame, 4-0, to make their only appearance in the championship match. TCU was dropped by Stanford, 5-1, in the final.

The round of 16 and beyond for the 2004 NCAA Tournament is being hosted by the University of Tulsa at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center over May 22-25. The singles and doubles participants for the individual championships will be released Thursday, May 6, by 5 p.m. CDT, however, the draw will not be determined until Tuesday, May 25, following the team championship match. The singles and doubles tournaments take place over May 26-31 at the Case Tennis Center. TCU has not competed individually since 2001.

SQUADS IN THE KENTUCKY REGIONAL AT A GLANCE

TCU HORNED FROGS
National Ranking: 16th
NCAA Seeding: None
Record: 16-6
Conference: Conference USA
Conference Tournament Finish: 2nd, lost to Tulane, 4-1
Ranked Singles Players: Alex Menichini (48)
Ranked Doubles Teams: Rafael Abreu/Fabrizio Sestini (36)

EAST TENNESSEE STATE BUCCANEERS
National Ranking: 67th
NCAA Seeding: None
Record: 20-5
Conference: Southern
Conference Tournament Finish: 1st, defeated College of Charleston, 4-2
Ranked Singles Players: None
Ranked Doubles Teams: None

KENTUCKY WILDCATS
National Ranking: 11th
NCAA Seeding: 12th
Record: 18-9
Conference: Southeastern
Conference Tournament Finish: T-3rd, lost to Ole Miss, 4-1
Ranked Singles Players: Jesse Witten (6), Tigran Martirosyan (94)
Ranked Doubles Teams: Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (14)

BUTLER BULLDOGS
National Ranking: None
NCAA Seeding: None
Record: 15-6
Conference: Horizon League
Conference Tournament Finish: 1st, defeated UW-Green Bay, 4-0
Ranked Singles Players: None
Ranked Doubles Teams: None