WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The 42nd-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team received a bid to compete in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced Wednesday evening. The Demon Deacons finished the regular season with an 11-10 overall record and will be competing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Wake Forest will take on 29th-ranked Mississippi State (8-13) in first round action from the Snyder Tennis Center in Charlottesville, Va. The NCAA Tournament's first two rounds are scheduled for May 14-16.

The Demon Deacons and Bulldogs have met three previous times with Mississippi State holding a slight 2-1 advantage. The last times the two teams faced off was in 1991 with the Bulldogs coming out on top, 6-2. The winner of the Wake Forest-Mississippi State match will face either Virginia (22-3) or American University (13-8) in the second round in Charlottesville. By winning the ACC Championship, the 10th-ranked Cavaliers received an automatic bid and will host the NCAA First and Second Rounds as the number-six national seed.

In the 2003 NCAA Tournament first round, 28th-ranked Wake Forest defeated #46 Brown by a score of 4-3, advancing to the second round for the first time in the program's history. The teams split the six singles contests but the Deacs captured the earlier doubles point, earning the right to play ninth-ranked Duke on its home court in the Regional Championship match where the Blue Devils ended Wake Forest's season with a 4-0 victory. In his eight years as head coach at Wake Forest, Jeff Zinn has now led his team to the NCAA Tournament five times, including four seasons in a row.

"We are honored to be in the NCAA Tournament again for the fourth year in a row. Compared to our previous three tournament teams, I think this team is going to be the most ready and focused," said Zinn. "We could not have asked for a better draw and seed. We battled hard in a 4-3 loss to Virginia earlier this season, so we like going to Virginia and getting to play Mississippi State in the first round. We feel like we've got a good chance."

Individual NCAA Tournament bids and official match times for the first two rounds of team action will be announced on Thursday. For more information on the 2004 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, visit www.ncaasports.com.