May 8, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford men's and women's tennis teams will face the Florida State Seminoles in the first round of the NCAA Championships this weekend in Tallahassee, Fla. The Bulldog women begin things on Friday morning at 11 a.m. ET while the men's match will get underway at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.

The Samford women (20-5, 12-0 OVC) earned the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament almost a month ago when they captured their third conference title in five years. The Bulldogs defeated UT Martin, 4-0, in the semifinals, and Eastern Kentucky, 4-0, in the finals of the OVC Championships to earn their third NCAA berth. The Samford women also earned their second consecutive regular-season title.

The Samford men (17-8, 11-1 OVC) also earned the OVC's automatic bid for the men to the NCAa Tournament when they captured their first OVC Tournament title. The Bulldogs swept UT Martin, 4-0, in the semifinals before going head-to-head and down to the wire with in-state rival Jacksonville State in the finals. The Bulldogs were victorious by a score of 4-3, after a heroic last chance win by senior Hank Grant.

Both Seminole teams were seeded 14th in this year's bracket, earning the opportunity to be a host site for the first and second rounds of the tournament. The Florida State men boast at 19-6 overall record, going 10-3 in the ACC this season. The women are 18-7 overall, 8-6 in the ACC. This is the second consecutive time that the Seminole men have hosted the first and second rounds and the first for the women.

All matches will be played at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center on the Florida State campus. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each match.