Women's Tennis Releases 2009-10 Schedule
6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 18, 2009
2009-10 Schedule in PDF Format 
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Women's Tennis Head Coach Jenny Mainz announced the 2009-10 schedule on Thursday that includes at least 13 matches against teams that advanced to the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Highlighting the schedule is a weekend trip in April to Georgia and Tennessee, both of which finished last season ranked in the top 10 nationally.
"We are coming off of a very solid season, but came up short in the end," said Mainz. "Our team was not content and feel we have unfinished business to attend to. I like that mentality going into next season. We are optimistic that we will continue to build on that."
The Crimson Tide opens up the fall schedule at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic in Nashville, Tenn. Sept. 11-13. Alabama will then travel to Milwaukee the next week to take part in the Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Sept. 18-21. The Tide heads to Los Angeles Oct. 3-11 for the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships. The feature matchup of the fall portion of the schedule is slated for Oct. 11 in Tuscaloosa when Alabama takes on the U.S. Junior National Team.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for us," said Mainz about the match against the U.S. Junior National Team. "We have never done this in my tenure at Alabama. They are a very talented, experienced team. To be afforded this opportunity is great for our team, and it will, no doubt, be a fantastic experience for all those involved."
Alabama will remain in its home state for its next tournament, the ITA South Regional Championships, which will be held in Auburn Oct. 23-26. The Tide will round out its fall schedule by sending players to two tournaments in early November, with the Seminole Tennis Classic being held in Tallahassee, Fla. Nov. 6-8 and the ITA National Indoor Championships being held in New Haven, Conn. Nov. 5-8.
Alabama begins its spring schedule Jan. 15-17, taking part in the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla. The Tide returns to Tuscaloosa for its first home matches of the season, hosting UAB and Southern Mississippi on Jan. 23. Alabama then heads to Atlanta, Ga. Jan. 29-31 to participate in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Tide is the No. 3 seed at the Atlanta site and will face No. 2 seed Kentucky. No. 1 seed and host Georgia Tech will take on No. 4 seed Arizona State as well. Each team is guaranteed two matches on the weekend, with the team that wins both matches advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 12-15 in Madison, Wis.
Alabama continues its non-conference slate with a trip to Oklahoma on Feb. 6 before returning home to face Georgia State on Feb. 13. The Tide will then make a cross country trip to Eugene, Ore. to take on the Oregon Ducks Feb. 20. Alabama returns home for two more non-conference matches, TCU and Eastern Kentucky, to close out the month of February before conference play begins.
The Tide begins SEC action with two home matches, March 5 against South Carolina and March 7 against Florida. Alabama hits the road for the first time in conference play the next weekend, traveling to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas March 12 and Baton Rouge to face LSU on March 14. The Tide returns home for its last non-conference tilt of the season March 21 against Tulane.
The next weekend features the only home/away split weekend of the conference season, as Alabama hosts Vanderbilt on March 26 before traveling to Kentucky on March 28. The Tide returns to Tuscaloosa for its final home matches of the season, hosting Mississippi on April 2 and Mississippi State on April 4. Alabama will play its final three matches on the road, beginning with Georgia and Tennessee on April 9 and 11, respectively. The Tide then travels to Auburn to battle the Tigers to close out the regular season on April 17. Alabama will head back to Athens the next week, the site of the 2010 Women's SEC Tennis Tournament.
The Tide returns all but one player in 2009, including SEC Second Team selection Tiffany Welcher and two-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree Taylor Lindsey. Alabama also adds a talented newcomer in Alexa Guarachi.
"I think Alexa (Guarachi) is going to come in and make immediate contributions," stated Mainz. "Also, I believe the experience and playing time our freshmen and sophomores gained last season is going to be an added bonus for us. Taylor (Lindsey) clinching as many matches as she did is going to help her out in the long run. Courtney (McLane) also played tremendous tennis at the end of the season. We certainly have a very exciting year in front of us. It is one we are all looking forward to."
Players Mentioned
