Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team will face another challenging schedule this season, playing 17 teams that appeared in the final ITA poll last season. The Hokies return seven players from last season’s team that finished 15-12 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tech has a busy fall with nine tournaments on the slate. The Hokies kicked off the season Sept. 9-11 at the UNC Greensboro Invite. Men’s tennis will next compete at the Nike Fab Four, hosted by Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., Sept. 16-18. Tech will wrap-up the first month of competition, Sept. 23-25 with the team splitting up for the Southern Intercollgiates in Athens, Ga. and the UVA-Ranked Plus One in Charlottesville.
The first week of October will have members of the team competing at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 3-9. The Hokies will return to Charlottesville for the next two weekends, first competing at the UVA Fall Classic (Oct. 14-16) followed by the ITA Regional Championships (Oct. 20-23). Tech will compete at the Crimson Tide Invitational, Oct. 28-30, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. before concluding the fall schedule at the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Nov. 3-6, in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Virginia Tech will face a tough dual match schedule in the spring, including a match at three-time defending national champion Southern California on March 9.
“We are very excited about this year’s schedule,” said head coach Jim Thompson. “Each year we have worked to improve and that includes giving our guys chances. This year not only will we play the tough ACC schedule, but we have a trip to Southern California, which will be a great trip for our seniors. In addition, we are traveling to Louisville and Penn State and both are very difficult non-conference opponents. New on the schedule this year is Harvard and this should give us a chance to actually see Boston when we travel up there to play BC this year. Overall, this will be quite a challenge, but our guys always seek these types of opportunities and this is why they chose to play at Virginia Tech.”
The dual match season opens, Jan. 29-30 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Athens, Ga. where the Hokies will face Nebraska on the first day. The second day will match the Hokies against either TCU or Georgia.
Tech will open the home schedule with five straight matches, beginning with Maryland on Feb. 24. During the home stand, the Hokies will also face Virginia (Feb. 26), Minnesota (March 3), St. Bonaventure and James Madison with both being slated for March 4. In addition, the team will host N.C. State (March 30), Wake Forest (April 1), VCU (April 3), Miami (April 13) and Florida State (April 15).
On the road, Tech will be tested with matches against Penn State, Harvard and Boston College in early February. In mid-March the Hokies will travel to USC, Louisville, North Carolina, and Duke. Georgia Tech and Clemson wrap the regular season road matches in early April. The ACC Championship will be held April 19-22 in Cary, N.C.