Troy Draws First Round Match Against Florida State

TROY, Alabama - The Sun Belt champion Troy men's tennis team will makes its second NCAA Championships appearance when it travels to Athens, Ga., and take on Florida State on Friday, May 8, in the first round of the NCAA Championships, at 10 a.m. CT.

Joining the Trojans and Seminoles in the four-team, single-elimination regional is No. 8 national seed Georgia and Winthrop. The winners of the first round matches will advance to the second round match which will be played on Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. CT

All matches will be played at the 5,000-seat Dan Magill Tennis Complex and ticket information will be announced later.

The winner of the Athens Regional will advance to the Sweet 16 hosted by Baylor in Waco, Texas, beginning on May 14.

Troy (25-6) won its second Sun Belt Championship in program history just nine days ago, and enters the NCAA Regional having won five straight matches and 10 of its last 16 matches.

Troy, the 53rd-ranked team in the nation, is led by five All-Sun Belt performers, including first team selections Gabriel Dias and Hassan Ndayishimye. The Trojans also feature Sun Belt Coach of the Year Scott Kidd.

"We played Florida State close back in the early part of the season," Kidd said. "We didn't have one of our starters in the lineup, so I think that we have a big opportunity to win this match and go on to play, hopefully Georgia, inside a great venue.

"I've played in that venue before and its a huge venue with a great crowd. It's kind of overwhelming at first, so we just need to focus, play our game like we've been doing and the great thing about this team is that they're fearless."

Troy's 25 wins this season set a program record and ties the Trojans with Illinois and Ohio State for the most wins entering the NCAA Championships. Troy's 17-win improvement from last season is also the best in the nation.

Florida State (19-10), the 33rd-ranked team in the nation, is an at-large selection from the ACC after falling in the ACC quarterfinals to Virginia. The Seminoles feature two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles team.

Troy and Florida State played earlier this season, with the Seminoles winning, 4-0. The match was played in Tallahassee all the way back on January 17 when the Trojans were playing their third match in 24 hours.

Georgia (21-4), the seventh-ranked team in the nation, lost to Texas A&M in the championship match of the SEC Tournament. Winthrop (15-8) won the Big South Conference.

Players Mentioned

Gabriel Dias

Hassan Ndayishimiye