UPDATED CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Bridgewater State College will host the 2008 Little East Conference Men’s Tennis Championships this weekend at the Dr. Henry Rosen Memorial Tennis Courts. The Little East Conference team champion advances to the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament as the conference’s automatic qualifier.

The tournament begins on Friday, April 25 with the quarterfinal round of the top-flight doubles matches at 9:30 a.m. The entire doubles bracket will be played on the first day, culminating with the finals of all three doubles flights. The singles draw will also get underway on Day One with the quarterfinal round of all six flights. The tournament will resume the following morning with the consolation and championship rounds of the singles flights.

The Little East Conference began holding an annual men’s tennis championship tournament in 1990 with UMass Boston capturing the inaugural team crown. The 2008 campaign marks the 19th anniversary. UMass Dartmouth has won a conference-best eight titles, including a string of seven straight from 1996-2002, while the University of Southern Maine has claimed at least a share of four of the past five championships.

Salem State College enters the tournament fray as the top-ranked team, boasting an unbeaten 6-0 mark inside the conference circuit. Western Connecticut State University sits in the second position with a 4-2 mark, while Bridgewater State College, UMass Boston, and the University of Southern Maine each sport 3-3 records. Rhode Island College and UMass Dartmouth round out the conference standings with 1-5 marks.

The newly reconstructed Dr. Henry Rosen Memorial Tennis Courts are conveniently located at the bottom of Great Hill, just a short walk from a number of student residence halls and academic facilities. Reconstruction of the courts took place during the summer of 2001.