Irvine Lands NCAA Tennis Berth

For the fourth consecutive year, UC Irvine’s men’s tennis team has been awarded a berth in the NCAA Division I championships, which start next Friday at the Grand Champions tennis facility in Indian Wells.

Irvine, 18-12 and the nation’s 18th-ranked team, will play West Virginia, 17th ranked, in a 4 p.m. first-round match on the first day of the tournament. The winner will play top-ranked Tennessee the next day. The team portion of the tournament will run through May 22, with the individual meet beginning the next day.

The NCAA selection marked the fifth appearance for the Anteaters since Irvine joined Division I in 1977.

“This is the best news and most excited I’ve been in a long time,” UCI Coach Greg Patton said. “It’s like I’ve been in the waiting room to find out if I had a boy or a girl, or even anything at all. The last three years, we pretty much knew we were in. But this is like I’m ready to start passing out cigars.”

Three Anteater players--seniors Trevor Kronemann, Richard Lubner and Shige Kanroji--also will compete in the individual tournament. Kronemann, who is ranked 20th, and Lubner, ranked 33rd, will compete in singles. Kronemann also will team with Kanroji in doubles, in which they are ranked 29th.