Men's Tennis Releases 2009-10 Schedule
6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
June 18, 2009
2009-10 Schedule in PDF Format 
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Men's Tennis Head Coach Billy Pate announced the 2009-10 schedule Thursday which is set to begin September 18 in Athens, Ga. The team will be very busy in the fall, sending players to six different tournaments. The spring portion of the schedule features at least 13 matches against teams that qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
"We have a great schedule for 2009-2010 with a lot of great home matches," said Pate. "We're particularly excited about hosting three great teams for the ITA Kickoff weekend in January and the slate of nationally competitive teams that will play us on campus."
As previously mentioned, the Crimson Tide will begin its fall schedule Sept. 18 at the Southern Intercollegiate hosted in Athens, Ga. which is the South's oldest fall tournament. Alabama will then be divided for its next two tournaments, sending players to the All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Oct. 2-11 and the Harvard Fall Invitational in Cambridge, Mass. Oct. 9-11. On Oct. 22 the Tide begins play at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships in New Orleans, La. just prior to hosting the Crimson Tide Fall Championships Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Alabama will conclude its fall schedule when it travels to Charlottesville, Va. for the ITA National Indoor Individual Championships Nov. 5-8.
After nearly two months away from competition, the Tide will open up its spring portion of the schedule with two more tournaments, the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Jan. 8-10, followed by the SEC Indoor Championships Jan. 15-18 in Atlanta, Ga. Alabama will then compete in its first dual match of the season, traveling to Evanston, Ill. to face Northwestern on Jan. 22. The Tide returns home for the aforementioned ITA Kickoff Weekend Jan. 30-31 with Alabama being one of 15 host sites, and is the No. 1 seed, in Tuscaloosa. The Tide will take on No. 4 seed Arizona, while No.2 seed Auburn will battle No. 3 seed Duke. Each team is guaranteed two matches on the weekend, with the team that wins both its matches advancing to the ITA National Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. Feb. 12-15.
Alabama kicks off its dual match season on Feb. 7 in Tuscaloosa against Tulane. The Tide will hit the road for its next match, Feb. 20 at Oklahoma, before returning home for five consecutive matches. Alabama will host Pepperdine on Feb. 26, Eastern Kentucky and Winthrop as part of a double-header on Feb. 28, and will then open up SEC play by hosting Georgia and Tennessee March 5 and 7, respectively.
The Tide makes its first conference road trip the next weekend, playing at South Carolina on March 12 and at Florida on March 14. Alabama will also travel to Nashville on March 21 to take on Vanderbilt. The Tide returns home for four straight matches, beginning with a non-conference match against Southern Mississippi on March 26. The Tide then steps back into conference play, hosting Kentucky on March 28, LSU on April 2, and Arkansas on April 4.
Alabama takes its final conference road trip of the season, heading to Mississippi State on April 9 and Mississippi on April 11. The Tide then returns to the state of Alabama, taking part in a double-header against UAB and Samford in Birmingham on April 14. Alabama's final dual match of the season will be against in-state rival Auburn on April 17 in Tuscaloosa before heading to the SEC Championship in Lexington, Ky. April 22-25.
NCAA Tournament play begins May 14 with the First and Second Rounds. Sites will be determined at the conclusion of the regular season. The NCAA Championships will be held in Athens, Ga. with the Round of 16 beginning May 20.
"Since we lost five seniors we'll certainly have a different look next spring," added Pate. However, it's always exciting to have new faces and watch them go through the development process while embracing the challenges of playing in the SEC."
The Tide returns six players in 2009 including SEC First Team selection Saketh Myneni and Ricky Doverspike, who went undefeated in singles play throughout the dual match season. Alabama also adds a pair of newcomers in Ian Chadwell and Harris Barnard, as well as Michael Davis who will be eligible to begin competing this fall. In addition, Pate expects to have one or two more join the team.
