Women's Tennis Releases 2010-11 Schedule
6/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 28, 2010
2010-11 Women's Tennis Schedule
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Head Women's Tennis Coach Jenny Mainz announced the 2010-2011 schedule on Monday that includes at least 10 matches against teams that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Championship. Highlighting the schedule are six fall tournaments, six home matches against Southeastern Conference foes, and a short trip to Montgomery in late February to take part in the prestigious Blue Gray Invitational.
"I'm optimistic about the 2010-2011 season," Mainz said. "We have a quality schedule in place with a considerable number of opportunities. We will face over 13 nationally-ranked opponents and eight top-20 teams."
The Crimson Tide opens up the fall portion of its schedule in Auburn to compete in the annual SEC Fall Coaches Classic Sept. 10-12. Alabama will then travel to Cary, N.C., the next week to participate in the Duke Tennis Fall Invitational Sept. 17-19. The Tide returns home to host the Roberta Alison Fall Classic at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium Sept. 24-26.
The month of October begins with the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships in Los Angeles. Players are selected to compete in the nine-day tournament based on the ITA preseason national singles and doubles rankings. The tournament begins Oct. 2 with prequalifying and ends on Oct. 10 with the championship matches. Alabama will then have some time off before heading to Birmingham for the ITA Southern Regional Championships Oct. 22-25. The fall portion of the schedule ends with a trip to Flushing, N.Y., for the ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 4-7.
The spring portion of the Tide's schedule begins in Tallahassee, Fla., where Alabama will compete in the Florida State University Quad Jan. 15-17. The Tide then heads to Waco, Texas, for the 2011 ITA Kick-Off Weekend Jan. 28-30. Alabama opens up with Baylor, a team that spent several weeks ranked No. 1 and finished last season with a ranking of No. 4. The Tide will also play either Rice or Oklahoma State that weekend. Should Alabama win both matches on the weekend, the team would advance to the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 18-21.
A trip to New Orleans opens up the month of February for the Tide, as Alabama will take on Texas Tech on Feb. 5 and Tulane on Feb. 6. The next weekend features the first home matches of the season for Alabama, as the Tide will battle UCF on Feb. 12 and UT-Chattanooga on Feb. 13. The month of February ends with the Blue Gray Invitational on the 25-27. Teams participating in the tournament along with Alabama are Auburn, DePaul, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia.
The Tide opens up Southeastern Conference play in Tuscaloosa on March 4 against Tennessee, which finished last season ranked No. 13. Alabama also hosts Georgia on March 6. The first conference road contests takes place the next weekend, as the Tide travels to Florida on March 11 and South Carolina on March 13. Following an open weekend, Alabama will have the annual split weekend in the conference schedule. Kentucky will be in Tuscaloosa on March 25, with the Tide traveling to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt March 27.
Alabama opens up the month of April at home against LSU and Arkansas, playing the Tigers on April 1 and the Razorbacks on April 3. The next weekend features the final two SEC road matches, with the Tide playing at Mississippi on April 8 and at Mississippi State on April 10. The regular season schedule finishes up the next weekend with a home match versus Auburn on April 16. Alabama will then travel to Knoxville, Tenn., the next week for the 2011 SEC Women's Tennis Tournament.
The Tide must replace two seniors from last year's squad, but return All-SEC Second Team members Alexa Guarachi and Courtney McLane. Guarachi finished the season ranked No. 56 in singles after making an appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships. Guarachi and McLane also finished No. 15 nationally in doubles after a Round of 16 showing in the NCAA Doubles Championships. Taylor Lindsey and Tiffany Welcher will also look to rebound from injury-plagued seasons.
"This team realizes we have our work cut out for us," Mainz added. "I'm confident they will rise to the challenge."
Players Mentioned
