Upstate Men's Tennis Announces Complete 2008-09 Schedule
7/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
July 31, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Heading into its second season of NCAA Division I play, the USC Upstate men's tennis team is set to take on one of the most ambitious schedules in school history in 2008-09, head coach Alessandro De Marzo announced on Thursday, featuring 13 teams that finished the 2007-08 season with non-losing records and including three NCAA Tournament teams.
Upstate will face 23 teams in dual meets during the spring season, including 13 non-conference matches and a full-10-match Atlantic Sun slate. The Spartans will also play two unusual doubleheaders during the season, playing at Troy and at Alabama State, with both matches on Jan. 30, heading to Troy, Ala. for a 10 a.m. start before heading to Montgomery, Ala., for a 2:30 p.m. start. The Spartans also host North Florida in an Atlantic Sun match at 10 a.m. on March 28 before heading down I-26 for Clinton, S.C. to face Presbyterian in a non-conference match at 3:30 p.m.
The Spartans kick off their season on Jan. 18 by facing Georgia Tech, which finished its 2008 season ranked 52nd in the ITA Division I rankings. After that, Upstate heads to Alabama for the doubleheader with Troy and Alabama State before a two-week break. On Valentine's Day, the Spartans head to Davidson, which won 14 matches in 2008 and then they travel to Winthrop, which won 12 matches in 2008, on Feb. 19.
Upstate opens its home slate on Feb. 21 when Appalachian State, Southern Conference semifinalists in 2008, visit the Upstate Tennis Complex. The next day, Upstate travels to S.C. State, the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions that finished 18-4 in 2008.
The Spartans return home on Feb. 25 as they host crosstown rival and 2008 SoCon semifinalists, Wofford. After a road trip to Georgia Southern (3/1), Upstate starts its 2009 Atlantic Sun Conference slate with home matches against Belmont (3/6) and Lipscomb (3/7).
After A-Sun road trips to Mercer (3/14) and Kennesaw State (3/15), Upstate heads to UNC Wilmington to take part in the Battle at the Beach. In the three-day round robin, the Spartans will face defending Missouri Valley Conference champions Drake (3/17), Missouri-Kansas City (3/18) and Colonial Athletic Association semifinalist UNC Wilmington (3/19). Upstate completes their road trip with a trip to Campbell (3/21) for an A-Sun match.
Upstate returns home on March 27 for a match with Jacksonville before facing North Florida and Presbyterian on March 28. A trip to Florida follows, as Upstate faces conference foes Florida Gulf Coast (4/2) and Stetson (4/4) before closing the season at home with a match against A-Sun champions East Tennessee State (4/7).
The Spartans start the fall season at home with the USC Upstate Tennis Tournament on Sept. 12-13. The fall season is typically when collegiate tennis teams participate in tournaments and emphasizes individual development.
The Spartans head to the prestigious Southern Intercollegiates at the University of Georgia from Sept. 19-21 the weekend after the Upstate tournament. It is the second straight year the Spartans have competed at the Southern Intercollegiates. Upstate will also return to Wofford's tournament on Oct. 3-4 before travelling to Elon for the first time for a tournament on Oct. 10-11.
All those tournaments will prepare the team for the ITA Mideast Regionals at the University of North Carolina from Oct. 16-21. If a Spartan makes the finals in the singles or doubles portion of the regional, they will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships.
Upstate finished the 2008 spring season 15-6 overall and 8-2 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, marking the eighth straight season the Spartans won more than 10 dual matches. The team also featured a first team All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection in Sandy Franz and a second-team selection in junior Renzo Airaldi (Lima, Peru/Domingo Faustino Sarmiento).
