Eager to get back on the courts the 2015 OAC champion John Carroll University men's tennis team makes its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance this week. John Carroll opens up action in the first round with a 12 p.m. match against Franciscan at Kenyon.
 
The winner of the match advances to play Kenyon in the second round at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 9. Kalamazoo and Johns Hopkins square off in the other second round match in Gambier, Ohio at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The winners of Saturday's matches square off at noon on Sunday.
 
John Carroll advanced to its first-ever NCAA Tournament by virtue of earning the OAC's automatic bid with a 5-4 win over Otterbein in the OAC Tournament championship match on Saturday. The title marked JCU's sixth-ever OAC title. However, the OAC did not have an automatic bid in the field during JCU's previous titles.
 
John Carroll is led by Jad Abdul-Aal who enters play with a 20-9 record on the year. The sophomore is 9-1 in his last 10 singles' matches. Abdul-Aal has a 10-16 doubles' record but has faced numerous Division II and NAIA competitors this year.
 
The Blue Streaks will also count on Alex Guthrie (13-10) and Nick Siciliano (11-6) in singles play. In doubles, the duo has forged a 6-1 record as partners.
 
Live stats will be available for all of JCU's matches.
 
Scouting the other teams at Kenyon
 
Franciscan (9-5)
National Ranking: None
Regional Ranking: None
Regionally Ranked Players: None
Results vs. Common Opponents: Baldwin Wallace (3-6), Otterbein (4-5), Mount Union (4-5)
Top Singles Players: Jarek Sulak (No. 3, 10-2), John Gallagher (No. 4, 10-1)
Top Doubles Duos: John Gallagher/Jarek Sulak (No. 2, 12-0), Connor Jooste/Mitchell Plys (9-0)
 
Kenyon (19-5)
National Ranking: 9
Regional Ranking: 3/Central
Regionally Ranked Players: Wade Heerboth (No. 6 singles), Sam Geier (No. 9 singles), Sam Geier/Tim Rosensteel (No. 5 doubles)
Results vs. Common Opponents: CWRU (6-3, 5-4), Ohio Wesleyan (9-0, 5-0), Allegheny (8-1), Oberlin (9-0, 5-1), Wooster (9-0)
Top Singles Players: Wade Heerboth (No. 1, 13-6), Sam Geier (No. 2, 13-6)
Top Doubles Duos: Sam Gier/Tim Rosensteel (No. 1, 9-8), Colin Haas/Wade Heerboth (No. 2, 13-4)
 
Johns Hopkins (17-7)
National Ranking: 17
Regional Ranking: 5/Atlantic South
Regionally Ranked Players: Michael Buxbaum (No. 1 singles), Jeremy Dubin (No. 20 singles), Ben Hwang (No. 21 singles), Michael Buxbaum/Emerson Walsh (No. 7 doubles), Tanner Brown/Erik Lim (No. 13 doubles)
Results vs. Common Opponents: CWRU (6-3)
Top Singles Players: Michael Buxbaum (No. 1, 18-3), Jensen Reiter (varied, 14-0)
Top Doubles Duos: Michael Buxbaum/Emerson Walsh (Nos. 1-2, 13-9), Tanner Brown/Erik Lim (varied, 8-5)
 
Kalamazoo (15-5)
National Ranking: None
Regional Ranking: 10
Regionally Ranked Players: Branden Metzler (No. 12 singles), Branden Metzler/Robert Hudson (No. 19 doubles)
Results vs. Common Opponents: Ohio Wesleyan (8-1)
Top Singles Players: Brandon Metzler (No. 1 singles, 15-5), David DeSimone (No. 2 singles, 13-6)
Top Doubles Duos: Robert Hudson/Brandon Metzler (No. 1 doubles, 11-3), Spencer Navarre/Eric De Witt (No. 3 doubles/11-5)
 
Tickets
Admission is free to rounds 1-3 of the NCAA Tournament.