WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – After clinching its third consecutive NCAA Tournament automatic bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, the Monmouth University men's tennis team drew #16 Columbia during the NCAA Selection Show on Tuesday evening. The match will be played on Friday, May 11 at the historic USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.

"The guys really put in the work and earned this MAAC championship," said Monmouth Head Coach Alex Kasarov. "They came out focused and ready to play, and they got the job done. Columbia is a fantastic, well-coached team that we have a ton of respect for. We're going to make a few adjustments in the next week or so and get ready to give it our best shot."

The Hawks come into the matchup on an 11-game winning streak, including a 4-0 sweep over Fairfield in the MAAC semifinals and a 4-0 sweep of Marist in the MAAC Championship. Monmouth finished the 2018 regular season campaign with a perfect 7-0 MAAC record, including five sweeps.

All six starters from the squad were named to an All-MAAC team. In addition, junior Nicola Pipoli was named MAAC Player of the Year after a perfect 7-0 record in MAAC singles play and a 6-1 record in MAAC doubles play.

Freshman Will Cooke Wharton was named MAAC Rookie of the Year and All-MAAC First Team at No. 5 singles after going 7-0 in conference singles play. Pipoli and Cooke Wharton also teamed up to earn All-MAAC First Team honors at No. 1 doubles, going a perfect 4-0.

Kasarov was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

Earlier this season on March 3, the Lions defeated the Hawks by a score of 7-0.

For all updates on Monmouth Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @MUMTennis.