May 4, 2010

Complete NCAA Championships Bracket

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Two days after winning its 12th straight Big Ten Tournament, Northwestern learned the road it will need to take in its quest to win its first outdoor NCAA team title. The Wildcats (21-6) received the No. 6 overall seed for the upcoming tournament and will face Miami (Ohio) in the first round for the second year in a row.

Northwestern will take to the courts against the RedHawks at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 14, at the outdoor Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston. Should the `Cats advance to the second round, they will come up against the first-round winner between Illinois and Nebraska at noon the following day, Saturday, May 15.

This is the 11th straight season Northwestern has earned the right to host the NCAA First and Second Rounds. The Wildcats have made the most of their home court advantage, advancing to the round of 16 in nine of the last 10 seasons.

NU, which entered the Championships as the top overall seed each of the last two seasons, is coming off a 2010 dual campaign in which it won a second consecutive ITA National Indoor Team Championship, a tournament which annually assembles the nation's top 16 teams for a single-elimination dual tournament. The Wildcats completed a 9-1 Big Ten regular season before dominating the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa last weekend, beating Ohio State and Illinois in the early rounds before sweeping top-seeded Michigan in the final match.

Last season, the top-seeded Wildcats opened their NCAA Championships against a RedHawk team making its first-ever trip to the tournament and promptly ousted the visitors, 4-0. Miami (Ohio) is 18-6 this season after again earning the automatic bid out of the Mid-American Conference. The other first-round match in Evanston pits Nebraska (21-5) of the Big 12 against Big Ten foe Illinois (15-9). Northwestern defeated Illinois 5-2 during the regular season and again in the semifinals of last week's Big Ten Tournament.

The team that advances through the first two rounds moves on to the round of 16 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., where the remainder of the NCAA Championships will be played out on both the men's and women's sides.

Below is a look at the schedule for the regional competition at Northwestern. Check back to NUsports.com in the coming days for further information about the event.

First Round -- Friday, May 14
10 a.m.: #6 Northwestern vs. Miami (Ohio)
1 p.m.: Nebraska vs. Illinois

Second Round -- Saturday, May 15
Noon: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2

*********
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats
-- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!