NC State men’s and women’s tennis make NCAA tournament

I’m not entirely clear on the seeding process for the NCAA tournament in tennis, but I can tell you that the men’s and women’s events are 64-team, single-elimination gauntlets, just like in basketball, and that NC State made the field in both.

NC State’s tennis programs don’t get as much attention as other non-revenue sports for their turnarounds, but both have lately been far better than they have been historically. The women’s program especially: the ladies are the No. 6 overall seed in the field and host a regional this weekend, opening with VCU. So the Pack can advance to the Sweet Sixteen without leaving Raleigh, which is nice.

The women’s program has made five consecutive NCAA tournaments and has held a top-15 ranking every week since February of 2019, which ain’t bad. They’d garner more attention if they broke through with an ACC title, but the league is usually pretty stacked in this sport: UNC is undefeated and the No. 1 overall seed, and nine ACC teams made the field.

On the men’s side, NC State is traveling to a regional at South Carolina, which is the No. 13 overall seed. The State men generally haven’t been as good as their female counterparts, but this is their third straight NCAA bid.

The men’s and women’s tournaments get underway on Friday.