MOBILE, Ala. – The William Woods University men's tennis team, sponsored by Fulton Medical Center, makes its second trip to the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship. The Owls open play on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. CT against Hastings College (Neb.).
 
The field consists of 12 automatic berths, 11 at-large selections, and the host berth Mobile (Ala.). Automatic qualification is given to conference and unaffiliated grouping tournament champions.

At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Tennis National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council (NAC), the president of the Tennis Coaches Association and two at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.

The single elimination, tournament commences with eight first-round matchups on May 15 starting at 1:30 p.m. CDT. The top-eight seeds received a first-round bye and will begin action on May 16 at 1 p.m. The event concludes on May 19 with the championship match slated for a 1 p.m. start.
 
For more information on the NAIA National Championship, click here. To see the complete NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship Bracket, click here.

Hastings enter the national championship with an 15-7 overall record. Hastings are making its eighth appearance at the Men's Tennis National Championship. Hastings qualified for the national championship by winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Broncos has won its last three matches, including a 5-1 victory over Midland University in the GPAC Tournament Finals. The win over Midland was the fifth straight GPAC Tournament Crown for Hastings.

The Broncos had six players named First Team All-GPAC singles on the season. Adnan Mehmedovic (No. 1), Dakota Burns (No. 2), Carter Mason (No. 3), Tim Fischer (No. 4), Zach Inman (No. 5), and Ben Petry (No. 6) earned Singles honors. The Broncos continued earning awards as Mehmedovic and Mason were named No. 1 doubles All-GPC and Burns and Zach Inman were named No. 2 doubles All-GPAC.
 
The Owls finished the regular season with a 14-6 mark and have won its last seven matches. The last loss for the Owls came on April 12th when they lost to NCAA Division II Washburn University. In the last regular season NAIA Men's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the Owls came in at No. 7.
 
WWU had eight players earn AMC/Heart All-Conference honors this season. Leading the way for the Owls was Javier Callejo. Callejo was named the Unaffiliated Grouping Player of the Year and AMC/Heart All-Conference First Team singles. He was 10-3 on the year in singles action.
 
Christian Barbieri earned AMC/Heart All-Conference First Team Singles honors as well. Barbieri was 5-6 in singles action this season.
 
The Owls doubles team of Christopher Vleeming Ortiz and Javier Callejo earned AMC/Heart All-Conference First Team doubles honors. The duo was 10-3 on the season.
 
Earning AMC/Heart All-Conference Second Team singles honors were Christopher Vleeming Ortiz, Oscar Barreiro and Jesus Amezcua. Vleeming Ortiz, a sophomore, was 13-3 in singles. He had the most singles win on the Owls team this season.
 
Barriero was 8-6 in singles action. The eight wins were the fourth most for a player on the Owls roster this season.
 
Amezcua finished the regular season with a record of 10-4 in singles action. The ten wins is tied for the second most on the Owls team.
 
The Owls doubles teams of Stefan Simic/Jesus Amezcua and the doubles team of Christian Barbieri/Oscar Barreiro were named AMC/Heart All-Conference Second Team doubles.

Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com for information on the upcoming NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship.

Hear From Head Coach Justin Stuckey