Men's and Women's Tennis Announces 2011-12 Schedules
8/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
2011-12 Men's Schedule | 2011-12 Women's Schedule
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Trips to Birmingham, Ala. and New Orleans, as well as a full slate of conference matches, highlight the 2011-12 USC Upstate men's and women's tennis schedules released today by head coach Dr. Oliver Trittenwein.
Both squads will kick-off the fall season with the USC Upstate Fall Classic which will take place Sept. 16-18 at the Upstate Tennis Complex. Following the three-day event in Spartanburg, members of the men's team will head to Tulsa, Okla., for the ITA All-American Championships (Oct. 1-2). The teams will conclude the fall season at the ITA Regional in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Oct. 20-22).
"We have a strong and challenging schedule ahead of us this year," Trittenwein said. "We are taking on some of the same schools we've played in the past, including our conference opponents, but we also have a handful of new opponents on the schedule this year. We will be facing teams out of Alabama and Louisiana, including Conference USA members UAB and Tulane."
The men's team will begin the spring season on Jan. 26 at Gardner-Webb as it begins a stretch of 11 consecutive non-conference matches. The home opener will take place on Feb. 2 against Anderson. The squad will then hit the road for a pair of matches in the state of Alabama as they take on UAB (Feb. 4) and Samford (Feb. 5).
Three of the next four matches for the Spartans will take place at home, beginning with a match against Georgia Southern on Feb. 12. Following a trip to Presbyterian College on Valentine's Day, the men's team will host Campbell (Feb. 24) and Winthrop (Feb. 26). The men's team will close out its non-conference road schedule in New Orleans with matches against Nicholls State (Mar. 2) and Tulane (Mar. 4). Before entering league play, the squad will host Maryland-Baltimore County on Mar. 10.
The women's team opens the spring with a pair of home matches against Presbyterian College (Jan. 28) and Anderson (Feb. 2). Of the final 10 non-conference match-ups, only two take place at the Upstate Tennis Complex. The squad travels to Birmingham, Ala., for two matches at UAB (Feb. 4) and Samford (Feb. 5) before matches at Wofford (Feb. 9) and against Davidson (Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 17).
The Spartans host Campbell on Feb. 24 before hitting the road for four consecutive matches. Upstate will face Charlotte on Feb. 25 before a trio of matches in New Orleans against Nicholls State (Mar. 2), Southeast Louisiana (Mar. 3) and Tulane (Mar. 4). The women's team will close out the non-conference slate against Maryland-Baltimore County on Mar. 10.
The two teams will open league play in Jacksonville, Fla., with matches at North Florida (Mar. 16) and Jacksonville (Mar. 17). The Spartans will battle another pair of Atlantic Sun members, this time at the Upstate Tennis Complex, as Florida Gulf Coast (Mar. 23) and Stetson (Mar. 24) make the trek to Spartanburg.
The following weekend, Upstate will head to the music city for conference matches at Belmont (Mar. 30) and Lipscomb (Mar. 31). The men's team briefly steps out of conference for a match against Binghamton on Apr. 3 before closing the regular-season with three league matches.
The two teams host Kennesaw State (Apr. 6) and Mercer (Apr. 7) in the final home matches of the season before heading to Johnson City, Tenn., to close out the regular season at ETSU on Apr. 14.
"Now that we are almost fully vested into the Division I level, our team has a new challenge to meet and that is to participate in the A-Sun Tournament," Trittenwein added. "I feel that playing in the conference tournament is an achievable goal for both of our teams this year."
The 2012 A-Sun Tennis Championships will take place in Johnson City, Tenn., on the campus of ETSU (Apr. 20-22, 2012).
