Generals Return to Top-Seeded Position
FOREST, Va. --- Last season, Washington and Lee University captured a conference-record 35th ODAC men's tennis trophy, but did so as the second seed. Heading into the 2017 ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament, the Generals return to their familiar perch atop the eight-team field for next week's postseason event.
RELATED: Tournament Website | Interactive Bracket
Bridgewater College and Guilford College earned the second and third seeds outright after posting 9-1 and 8-2 league records, respectively. But the next three positions weren't so clear cut.
Hampden-Sydney College, Randolph College, and Randolph-Macon College all finished with identical 6-4 marks against conference opponents, which created a tie that persisted thru the first three steps in the ODAC's tiebreaking procedures. The stalemate ultimately was separated by predetermined lots selected by the ODAC Board of Directors at the end of the 2015-16 season. That process awarded Randolph-Macon the fourth seed with Hampden-Sydney playing out of the fifth position and Randolph slotted sixth.
The remaining two seeds belong to Lynchburg College and Virginia Wesleyan College, with the Hornets taking up the seventh seed and the Marlins capping the eight-team field.
Hosting responsibilities for the quarterfinals on Tuesday, May 2, needed a little more clarification in the case of one matchup. Pairings for matches one, three, and four are clear with VWC heading to W&L, LC making the trip to BC, and RAND traveling to GC. But the H-SC versus R-MC showdown required further clarification from the conference's tiebreaking protocols.
In a situation where two teams play each other in a conference tournament where their seeding was determined using pre-drawn lots, hosting responsibilities for their matchup will reside with the team that won the regular-season head-to-head contest. In this instance, fifth-seeded Hampden-Sydney defeated #4 Randolph-Macon in the regular season, which makes the Tigers' the host of their quarterfinal outing with the Yellow Jackets.
Winners from Tuesday's four quarterfinals will head to Randolph-Macon for the semifinals and finals, with the Yellow Jackets hosting both the men's and women's final three matches on Friday and Saturday, May 6-7.
Listed below is the entire schedule for the 2017 ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament. For more information including match times, visit any of the participating schools' websites or go to the ODAC tournament website. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
2017 ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, May 2
Match 1: #8 Virginia Wesleyan at #1 Washington and Lee
Match 2: #4 Randolph-Macon at #5 Hampden-Sydney
Match 3: #7 Lynchburg at #2 Bridgewater
Match 4: #6 Randolph at #3 Guilford
Semifinals - Saturday, May 6 - Randolph-Macon College
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 – 8:30AM
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 – 11:00AM
Championship - Sunday, May 7 - Randolph-Macon College
Match 7: Championship – Winner Match 5 vs Winner Match 6 – 10:00AM