Men's Tennis Battles No. 5 Notre Dame In NCAA Championship First Round

Six-Peat: The Bulldogs are the only Horizon League men's tennis team to earn the conference's automatic bid, winning the league championship in each of the last six years. The league did not receive an automatic bid in men's tennis until 2002.

Horizon League Champions...Again: Butler wrapped up another dominant conference campaign last month, earning the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Championship for a bye to the semifinals of the tournament. There, the Bulldogs received their strongest competition of the league schedule, as No. 4 seed Wright State gave Butler a battle to the finish. The Raiders took an early lead in the match with a pair of doubles wins for the first point. Butler rallied in singles competition, however, scoring wins at No. 1, 3, 5 and 6 to advance to the championship match for the 12th-straight season. The Bulldogs then made quick work of No. 3 seed UIC, claiming the doubles point before notching three two-set wins in singles at No. 1, 2 and 3.

The Regulars: Butler has been a regular in the Horizon League Championship match since the tournament was first held in 1996, as the Bulldogs have advanced to the final match in each of the 12 years, winning the title match nine times.

Saving The Best For Last: The Bulldogs have saved their best tennis for the end of the year, winning their last eight-consecutive dual meets of the season. In fact, 13 of Butler's 14 dual meet wins have come in the final 16 matches.

A Tradition Of Dominance: Not only have the Bulldogs won nine of the 12 Horizon League Championships ever held, but they have also been superior in the conference regular season. In fact, Butler has not lost a single Horizon League regular season match in over 11 years, dating back to a 6-1 defeat to Northern Illinois at the end of the 1996 season. Since then, Butler has won 45-straight regular season matches.

Head Coach Jason Suscha: Jason Suscha, in his 10th season as the head coach of the Butler men's tennis team, continues to reign supreme in the world of Horizon League tennis. The five-time league coach of the year boasts a 156-92 overall record at Butler, including an astounding 62-1 mark against conference foes. Suscha also finished up his eighth season as head coach of the Butler women's tennis team, guiding the Bulldogs to a 13-14 overall record and an 6-1 mark against Horizon League foes. The Butler women fell just short of their first ever NCAA bid, however, falling 4-3 to UIC in the title match.

Low Is The Highest You Can Go: Butler senior James Low, the Bulldogs' No. 1 singles player all spring, earned the Horizon League's highest accolades as the Men's Tennis Player of the Year at the post-season awards banquet prior to the league tournament. Low finished the year with an impressive 21-12 mark in singles play, a 13-9 record in dual meets and a 6-1 tally against league foes.

Breitenbach, West Earn League Honors: Junior No. 2 singles player Eric Breitenbach joined Low on the All-Horizon League First Team after posting a team-best 23-12 singles record, including a 13-9 mark in dual meets. Senior Evan West was named to the all-league second team after putting up an 18-13 overall singles record and a 14-8 mark in dual meets playing mostly at No. 3.