SURPRISE, Ariz.  – The No. 29 Cameron men's tennis team is one of just eight teams remaining in the chase for the 2021 NCAA II Championship, as the action returns Tuesday with the Aggies facing No. 1 Columbus State.

The Aggies have played just one match in over three weeks after the Lone Star Conference Tournament was canceled due to weather and the South Central Regional was comprised of just three teams, with CU earning a first-round bye and then beating the three seed St. Mary's in the region finals, 4-0.

Against the Rattlers, Cameron won at he two and three doubles spots to take an early 1-0 lead. They then got wins from the 43rd ranked Oscar del Granado at two, Maycon Dias at three, and Alvaro Chavez at four to earn the win and advance to the next round.

Usually after winning the regional, the remaining teams would make up the "Round of 16", but due to the shrunken field this year, the Aggies are a part of the final right for the first time since 2015. They join a group that includes the top seed Columbus State, Barry, Indianapolis, Concordia (N.Y.), Hawaii Hilo, Bluefield State, and Northwest Missouri State.

The last time the Black and Gold faced the Cougars was at the National Tournament in 2017, head coach Josh Cobble's first year at Cameron. In that battle, the Aggies only point came from the All-American duo of Felipe Oyarzun and Mateo Velasco, who won their match 8-5.

This year's version of CSU is a perfect 21-0 and scored a pair of 4-0 wins over ranked opponents at the Southeast Regional to earn their spot in the round of eight. They are led by the No. 2 ranked singles player Alvaro Regalado, who is 12-1 this season with 12 straight wins at the one spot. The Cougars also have Christian Garay (12-2) ranked No. 15 and Tomasso Schold (18-1) ranked No. 32 by the ITA. They also have the top ranked doubles pair in Regalado and Javi Cueto Ramos (17-2).

Cameron enters the week at 12-7 but have won their last three matches and four of the last five. Their top duo of del Granado and Bruno Vietri (12-3) is ranked No. 8 in the country while the two players are also ranked No. 43 and No. 47 respectively in singles. This season, the senior del Granado is 12-6 with nine wins at two, while Vietri has six wins playing at one and has proven to be able to win big matches in the past. CU has a loaded lineup from one-through-six with Dias winning 15 matches this season and Carlos Vidal and Joao Duleba both winning 12 this spring; Chavez has 10 wins his first year on campus.

"This is a team of guys that love to compete and win," said Cobble about his group set to compete in Arizona this week. "We are hitting our peak at this point in the season, which is where we want to be going into the National Championship. I'm excited for what is ahead for this week!"

The quarterfinal battle between the Aggies and Cougars is set for 4 p.m. (CDT) on Tuesday, May 18. The winner will go on to face the winner of the Hawaii Hilo/Concordia match in the semifinals, also played at 4 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, May 19. The National Championship match will be played on Thursday, May 20, at the same time.