The Illinois men’s tennis team will play host to their first two matches of the NCAA Tournament this year, opening against Western Michigan on May 11 and facing a potential rematch with Michigan in the second round.

The NCAA Tournament committee, which includes Illinois coach Brad Dancer, placed the Illini in a “tough quarter,” junior Kevin Anderson said. But after the Chief Illiniwek controversy forced the team to open the tournament in Louisville, Ken., last year, the Illini will appreciate the comforts of home.

“I think it’s definitely a relief,” sophomore Marc Spicijaric said. “Last year was kind of frustrating, having to travel just for something so silly. It’s going to be great because we get two more home matches in front of the Illini crowd.”

The Illini drew the No. 10 seed for the tournament, the seventh time in nine years that the Illini have earned a top-10 seed. Western Michigan enters as the automatic bid from the Mid-American Conference, where they compiled a perfect record and earned a No. 54 national ranking.

The two teams last met in Champaign for the first round of the 2004 NCAA tournament, where Illinois won 4-1. Senior GD Jones is the only remaining player from that team, and the rest of the Illinois players haven’t seen much of the Broncos. There will be a connection on the sidelines, though, as Dancer is a personal friend of Western Michigan coach Dave Morin.

“They’re very, very good,” Dancer said. “They play great doubles and have great coaching. They have a lot of seniors and a lot of leadership on that team. They’re a very dangerous first round opponent.”

Should Illinois advance to the second round, they would likely face Michigan for the third time in just over a month. The Wolverines beat the Illini in Michigan in early April, but Illinois got revenge with a win at the Big Ten Tournament in Indiana last weekend. If the two teams do meet, it would be the first time Illinois entered the match with a home court advantage.

“Both matches we’ve played this year against them have been really tough matches,” junior Ryan Rowe said. “They’re a good team, and we need to stay focused. If we can get through that, we can use it as momentum going into NCAAs.”

The tournament’s top seed went to Georgia, who went undefeated during the regular season for the second straight year. Ohio State, who won the Big Ten title, drew the second seed ahead of Virginia and Baylor.

If the brackets hold to their seeding, Illinois could face No. 7 Mississippi in the sweet 16 and the Buckeyes in the elite eight. After the regional round, the final 16 teams move to Athens, Ga., for the finals.

“From an overall perspective, we’ve just got to get out of the region,” Dancer said. “If we do that and get out of the sweet 16, you’re looking at a lot of good teams. At that point, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. You’ve just got to win matches.”