Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney tennis teams will be the first (women) and second (men) seeds in the 2012 RMAC Tournament this weekend in Denver.

After both teams won at Metro State Thursday afternoon, the Lopers swept Colorado Mesa (8-1 women & 7-2 men) and Colorado State-Pueblo (9-0 women & 6-3 men) Friday in Pueblo.

On Saturday, the Loper women (15-6, 6-0 RMAC) beat Western New Mexico, 7-2, while the Mustang men defended their regular season title by edging UNK, 6-3.

The Loper men are now 14-8 (5-1 RMAC).

For the Kearney women, this is their third straight RMAC regular season title and the third straight spring they have gone 6-0 in league duals. In 2012, UNK has outscored RMAC foes by a combined tally of 49-5.  

At the Gates Tennis Center April 20-21, UNK will play Friday night at 6:00 p.m. Central against the winner of Metro State (No. 4) and CSU-Pueblo (No. 5). Mesa is the second seed in the seven-team tournament.

UNK has three tourney titles in its history, all coming in a row (2008-10). Click HERE for the women's bracket

On the men's side, the Lopers square off against seventh-seed Colorado Christian Friday at 9:00 a.m. Central. A likely second round opponent is third-seed Montana State-Billings; the Yellowjackets and Lopers have had a series of 5-4 matches over the past two years.

Click HERE for the men's bracket; UNK is looking for its fourth tourney title but first since 2006.

Of note this past weekend for the women, senior Nickola Messbarger (Kearney Catholic) and freshman Tealyn Trimble (Kearney H.S.) managed a 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles to help the Lopers go a perfect 9-0 in doubles on the weekend.

The Loper men actually trailed Pueblo 2-1 after doubles but won five of the six singles matches in straight sets to cruise to the dual victory. English freshman Jack Nicholson, in the fourth spot, had the toughest battle as he won 7-6, 6-4.

UNK closes out the regular season Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. when the Concordia Bulldogs visit Harmon Park.