The University of California, Berkeley, will have its sights set on a three-peat when the first ball goes up at the Tennis On Campus National Championship later this month. But the road to another title has never been harder.

 

The Golden Bears have been the preeminent force in coed club tennis this decade, claiming four of the past six National Championship crowns and establishing a legacy that rivals the Texas A&M University team that won four consecutive titles a decade ago.

 

But if UC Berkeley wants to become just the second team in the 16-year history of the Tennis On Campus National Championships to lift the trophy three years in succession, it will have to run the gauntlet of contenders and newcomers.

In total, 64 colleges and universities across the country have qualified for the 2016 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship, which will be played at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C., April 14-16.

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This year, seven schools will make their debut at Nationals in a field that includes the 2016 Club of the Year in the College of William and Mary, the 2015 runner-up in the University of Minnesota, 2013 winners in the Univeristy of Georgia and the 2011 champs in UCLA.

 

Teams participating in the Tennis On Campus National Championship have advanced through USTA section championship play or received automatic bids from winning at the Fall or Spring Invitationals.

 

“The USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship is far and away the most exciting and successful recreational college tennis event in the country, “said Glenn Arrington, National Director, USTA Tennis On Campus. “The Championship offers students a unique blend of team competition balanced with a coed fun and a social vibe – setting it apart from varsity programs. Having the opportunity to compete at Nationals is a memorable milestone in any player’s college experience.”

 

The Tennis On Campus program features more than 35,000 college students competing nationwide in intramural and intercollegiate coed club play. Since its inception in 2000, Tennis On Campus has grown significantly and today is played

on more than 600 college campuses across the country.

 

Participating teams who have received bids for this year’s USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship include the following schools:

 

Arizona State University	Oregon State University	University of Iowa
Auburn University	Penn State University	University of Maryland
Boston College	San Diego State University*	University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Brigham Young University	Stanford University	University of Miami
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	Stephen F. Austin University*	University of Michigan
Carleton College	Stony Brook University	University of Minnesota
College of Williams & Mary	Texas A&M University	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Columbia University	The Ohio State University	University of Northern Colorado
Cornell University	The University of Texas, Austin	University of Oregon
Dartmouth University	University of Alabama	University of Pennsylvania
DePaul University	University of Arizona	University of Pittsburgh
Georgia College*	University of California, Berkeley	University of South Carolina
Georgia Institute of Technology	University of California, Davis	University of Southern California
Harvard University	University of California, Los Angeles	University of Virginia
Illinois Institute of Technology	University of California, Santa Barbara	University of Wisconsin, Madison
Iowa State University	University of Colorado	Vanderbilt University
Lamar University	University of Delaware	Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Marquette University	University of Florida	Washington University, St. Louis
North Carolina State University	University of Georgia	West Virginia University*
North Dakota State University	University of Houston*	Western Washington University
Northeastern University	University of Illinois, Chicago*	Yale University
Northwestern University

* Denotes first-time participant