Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's and women's tennis teams, fresh of their respective Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament championships this past Sunday, are set to begin their NCAA Division III Tennis Championship journeys, with both teams opening with regional matches on Friday, May 8th.

Both teams will have challenging first-round matchups with nationally ranked opponents.

First to take the court will be women's tennis, as the 11-9 Scarlet Hawks will take on Luther College on Friday at 10:00am CT in Saint Peter, Minnesota, with Gustavus Adolphus College serving as the NCAA regional host. The 66th-ranked Norse enter NCAA play with a 15-8 record overall, and won both the regular season and postseason titles in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C). Should the Hawks survive and advance, they will have a date with 2nd-ranked and crosstown rival University of Chicago (16-4 overall), with the second-round match scheduled for 10:00am CT Saturday, May 9th, at Gustavus Adolphus College. The Maroons were the winners of the University Athletic Association (UAA) conference championship.

Men's tennis will be competing at the Denison University regional in Granville, Ohio, starting on Friday, May 8th. The 14-5 Scarlet Hawks have an 11:00am CT first-round match with 25th-ranked Carthage College. The Firebirds are owners of 22-3 overall record, went 6-1 in regular season conference play in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), then upset number one-seeded North Central College in the CCIW Men's Tennis Championship Match to earn the conference's automatic NCAA tournament berth. A win by the Scarlet Hawks on Friday would mean a Saturday morning match at 10:00am CT with last year's men's national champions and regional host, Denison University. The 4th-ranked Big Red sport a 25-2 overall record this season, and were winners of both the regular season and postseason titles in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

You can follow the action for women's tennis this weekend on the Gustavus Adolphus Women's Tennis Regional home page.

You can follow the action for men's tennis this weekend on the Denison University Men's Tennis Regional home page.