If you’re a tennis fan (and we have plenty of them in our house) you won’t want to miss this opportunity: the men’s and women’s NCAA tennis championships will be played in Urbana starting May 16 at the University of Illinois’ Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
The best collegiate tennis teams and student-athletes from across the country will be in Urbana to showcase their talents and compete for national titles. Sixteen men’s and women’s teams will compete for the first six days of the tournament to claim the team titles, while a 64-singles player bracket and a 32-doubles team bracket will be played out in the final six days of competition for both men and women.
Competition opens on Thursday, May 16, but you don’t have to wait until then to be part of the action. The NCAA Kickoff Concert will take place Tuesday, May 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Listen to music, meet the teams, enjoy the kids zone with inflatables and face painting, and have some food. Parking will also be free.
Illinois did not make it to the men’s or women’s team titles competition, but there will be Illini participating in the individual portion of the event. Both the Illini men’s and women’s teams will be represented in the doubles bracket. On the women’s side, senior Rachael White and sophomore Melissa Kopinski received an at-large bid, becoming the fourth-ever Illinois women’s doubles team to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships and first since 2003. Sophomore duo Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski will compete in the men’s doubles championship.
If you are a longtime Illini tennis fan, you won’t want to miss it as the University will welcome back its 2003 national championship team on May 18 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of winning the NCAA title.
Adult all-session tickets are $100, while youth (18 and under) all-session tickets are $75. Single-day tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for youth. Admission is free for children age two or younger.
For more information visit NCAA Championship Central; you can also follow the action via Twitter at @NCAATennis2013.