The No. 33 Wisconsin men's tennis team earned an at-large bid into the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, the NCAA announced Tuesday afternoon.
For the second consecutive season, the Badgers (17-9) will face the Washington Huskies, currently ranked 32nd in the nation, in the first round of the tournament. The Badgers will head to Los Angeles to play May 9 or May 10, against third-seeded UCLA, the regional's host team, or its opponent Eastern Washington, if they win in the first round against Washington. The official date and time have not been set.
The Bruins are currently No. 3 in the country, while the Eastern Washington Eagles, champion of the Big Sky Conference, is currently unranked.
Last season, the Badgers, making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998, defeated the No. 32 Huskies 4-3 on May 11, 2007, in South Bend, Ind. Moritz Baumann, then a freshman, broke a 3-3 tie with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 upset victory over the Huskies' Alex Slovic, ranked No. 64 at the time, at the No. 1 singles slot. The Badgers handed Washington its first opening round loss since 2000.
UW was then swept 4-0 in the next round by No. 5 Notre Dame, a perennial powerhouse. The Badgers finished at No. 32 in the season's final poll, the highest season-ending national ranking in school history.
This year's at-large appearance marks the 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament for the Huskies (14-9). The Huskies lost five of their last seven matches in the regular season following a seven-match winning streak.
Washington is led by No. 94 junior Patrik Fischer at No. 1 singles. Classmate David Chu, who plays mostly at the No. 5 singles spot, leads the team with 24 singles victories.
On Feb. 17, the Huskies were defeated 4-1 by then-No. 11 Illinois, an opponent the Badgers faced twice this season. The Badgers took down Illinois 5-2 in Madison on March 30, but were beaten 4-1 by the Fighting Illini last Saturday at the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa.
Five other Big Ten foes join the Badgers in the tournament. Ohio State, the tournament's No. 2 overall seed, received an automatic bid by winning last weekend's conference tournament.
The Illini received the No. 15 seed for an at-large bid. Penn State, Michigan and Indiana also received at-large invitations.
