SKILLMAN, N.J. - The University of Hawai`i men's tennis team finished 35th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, the highest ranking ever for the Rainbow Warriors. With that finish UH gained an invitation to the qualifying rounds of the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the second straight season.

 

The ITA held its third annual Men's Kick-Off Weekend Draft Thursday as teams bid for which route they will take to the 2011 Indoor Championships. Teams that finished the season ranked in the top 60 qualify for the Kick-Off Weekend, which will be held January 29-30, 2011 at 15 host sites.

 

UH gained a bid to the Texas regional, where they will join the host Longhorns, Rice and Alabama. The No. 4 seed Rainbow Warriors will face top-seeded Texas on Saturday, Jan. 29, before taking on either Rice or Alabama the next day. UH played at the UCLA regional in their first-ever appearance this past season, falling to the Bruins, before defeating South Florida in a consolation match the next day.

 

The 15 schools that win both of their matches at the event will advance to the main draw of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Washington, Feb. 18-21, 2011.

 

The Rainbow Warriors elevated to their lofty ranking after winning both the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.