April 18, 2005

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Big East Conference released the seeds for its 2005 Men's Tennis Championship on Monday, and Villanova found itself as a No. 6 seed in the tournament, which begins on April 21 at the University of South Florida in Tampa. This will mark the first appearance for Villanova since the championship was changed to a six-team competition in 2001.

"We set a goal at the beginning of the year to get to the Big East Championships and to achieve that goal is validation for all the hard work and dedication that the guys have put in all year," head coach Bob Batman said.

The Wildcats, led by seniors Aaron Kusza, Ricardo Baraldi, Angel Rubio and Sean Gallagher, are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2000, when they finished 10th overall.

Villanova has finished as high as second in the championship, which it did in 1987.

Notre Dame earned the No. 1 seed after winning the title a year ago. Boston College is seeded second, and along with the Irish, will receive a quarterfinal bye. Rutgers, Georgetown, and St. John's earned the No. 3, 4, and 5 seeds, respectively.

The Wildcats will face Rutgers on Thursday, April 21, at noon, with the winner moving on to face the Eagles on Friday for one of two semifinal matches. Georgetown and St. John's will face-off in the other first round match with the winner facing Notre Dame in the other semifinal.

Earlier in the season, Rutgers barely defeated Villanova, 4-3.

Consolation matches for third through sixth place will begin on Friday, with the championship match taking place on Saturday, April 23, at 9:00 a.m.