5:01pm | The regular-season Big West champion Long Beach State tennis team will look to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time as the 49ers participate in the Big West Tennis Championships this weekend.
 
The 49ers are the top seed in the tournament.
Action in the tournament begins on Thursday, April 28, when  Cal State Fullerton (No. 8) plays UC Riverside (No. 9), a match of interest for the 49ers as Long Beach State gets the winner of the “play-in” match when the regular draw begins on Friday, April 29.The 49ers start off the day at 9 a.m. with that match, and if they win there, will play on Saturday, April 30, the winner of UC Santa Barbara (No. 4) and Pacific (No. 5) at 3 p.m.

All matches in the tournament will be played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Long Beach State secured the top spot with a 7-1 record in regular season play in the Big West, winning the tiebreaker with Cal Poly after defeating the Mustangs head-to-head 6-1 on April 9. The 49ers, ranked No. 39 in the country, are one of five ranked teams in the Big West as the schools enter the championships. It illustrates that the league’s strength is as good as in recent memory and gives the Big West a reasonable chance of having two teams advance to the NCAA Tournament.Cal Poly (No. 2) is the highest ranked team,coming in at No. 36,and closely followed by Long Beach State. UC Davis (No. 3) is ranked No. 56 and the Gauchos are ranked No. 67 in the nation. Also ranked is  UC Irvine (No. 6),which was named No. 59 in this week’s poll.The championship match will be held on Sunday,May 1,at 9 a.m. The winner of that match will advance to the NCAA Tournament. The bracket for the tournament will be announced on Tuesday,May 3,at 2 p.m.