MOBILE, Ala. - The 59^th Annual NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT, on Tuesday, May 18, at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. The championship will run over five days from May 18 - 22 and is hosted by the Mobile Tennis Center, Spring Hill College (Ala.) and the University of Mobile (Ala.).

Defending National Champion Fresno Pacific (Calif.) earned the No. 1-seed and is making its fifth-consecutive trip to the national championship. The Sunbirds won their first title a year ago as the No. 3-seed, defeating Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) 5-3. They will receive a first round bye and will play the winner of the first round match between Xavier (La.) and Tennessee Wesleyan, who is making its first appearance.

Along with Tennessee Wesleyan, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) and St. Thomas (Fla.) are also making their first appearances. The RedHawks of Martin Methodist will play Indiana Wesleyan in the first round, while St. Thomas will square off against Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).

Third-seeded Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Lewis-Clark State are all making their 11^th-consecutive appearance in the event, since the team format began in 2000, which is the most among the field.

No. 2-seed Auburn Montgomery leads all schools in the field with eight national championships. Host school Mobile (Ala.) has won a pair of titles, while Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Oklahoma Christian each have one.

The Golden State Athletic Conference leads all conferences with six schools in the championship field: Fresno Pacific, Azusa Pacific, No. 5-seed Concordia (Calif.), No. 6-seed Vanguard (Calif.), No. 8-seed Westmont (Calif.) and Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.). Point Loma Nazarene is the only GSAC squad not to receive a first round by and will play the host school Mobile in the first round.

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