Women's Tennis releases 2008-09 Schedule
8/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Aug. 14, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU women's tennis head coach Jefferson Hammond announced the schedule for the 2008-09 season on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs will face six teams that ended last season in the top 25, and 12 teams that finished in the top 50. TCU will also host the ITA Southwest Regional.
"This is one of the strongest non-conference schedules in the country, and we look forward to the challenge," Hammond said. "Playing quality opponents helps our players get better and prepares us well for the conference season and the NCAA tournament."
The Frogs' non-conference schedule will be highlighted by home matches against No. 28 Auburn, No. 36 North Carolina State, No. 12 Miami, Alabama, Michigan and No. 4 Baylor.
TCU will also face stiff non-conference competition on the road, facing No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 44 Virginia, No. 21 William and Mary, Texas Tech, No. 31 Texas A&M, No.16 Fresno State, No. 25 Pepperdine and SMU.
The Frogs will host three Mountain West Conference matches, while traveling away from Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center for the other five MWC matches.
The fall season will begin on September 12 as the Horned Frogs will kick off the year at the University of Georgia's Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga. Selected players will then jump from the East Coast to the West Coast to Pacific Palisades, Calif., for the ITA All-American Invitational. After the nine-day event, TCU will take part in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Oct. 9-11.
On October 23-27, the Frogs host the ITA Southwest Regional, before closing out the fall season at the National Indoor Tennis Championships in Charlottesville, Va., on November 6-9.
"We will use the fall to build and gain confidence for the spring," Hammond said. "We have a strong fall schedule that will give our players opportunities to climb in the individual rankings."
The 2009 dual match season will begin with a bang, as five of the first six meetings will take place out of the state with all six matches scheduled against teams that finished in the top 50 last season.
The Frogs will start the spring season back in Charlottesville, Va. to face No. 44 Virginia on Jan. 24. TCU is currently tied in the all-time series with the Cavaliers, 2-2. The Horned Frogs topped Virginia last spring, 6-1.
TCU will then jump to Williamsburg, Va., the next day, Jan. 25, to take on No. 21 William & Mary, followed by the opening round of the ITA National Team Championships against No. 6 Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 31. TCU could face either Arizona State of Florida State in the next phase on Feb. 1.
After a showdown in Fort Worth against No. 28 Auburn on Feb. 8, the Frogs head to Madison, Wis., for the final rounds of the ITA National Team Championships. After spending much of the first of the year on the road, TCU will come home to host North Carolina State (Feb. 21) and Miami (Feb. 22), while heading to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Feb. 26. TCU will round out the month at home against Alabama on Feb. 28.
Only two of the Frog's eight March matches will be in Fort Worth, sending TCU to College Station to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M on Mar. 6. After coming home to host Michigan on Mar. 8, the Purple and White will travel to California for a tough two-step against No. 16 Fresno State (Mar. 12) and No. 25 Pepperdine (Mar. 14). The Frogs will return to the Lone Star State to face cross-town rival SMU in Dallas on Mar. 18, before heading back to the West Coast to open up Mountain West Conference play at San Diego State on Mar. 27. TCU will take on UNLV on the following day on the San Diego State campus.
TCU will begin four-match home stand in Fort Worth on March 31 when they will host No. 4 Baylor in the last non-conference action of the regular season. The Frogs are ahead in the all-time series against the Bears, despite falling in Waco last season, 6-1. TCU will then host a trio of MWC foes in consecutive days; Utah (April 3), BYU (April 4) and New Mexico (April 5).
The Frogs will wrap-up the regular season in Albuquerque, N.M., facing Air Force on April 9, followed by a doubleheader against Colorado State (10 a.m.) and Wyoming (5 p.m.) on April 10.
The 2008 MWC Championships will also be held at New Mexico's Lobo Tennis Club on April 22-25. The NCAA Team Championships will take place on May 15-19 in College Station, Texas, followed by the NCAA Individual Championships on May 20-25.
2008-09 Women's Tennis Schedule
SEPTEMBER
12-14 - Bulldog Invitational, TBA, Athens, GA
27-Oct 5 - ITA All-American Invitational, TBA, Pacific Palisades, CA
OCTOBER
9-11 - Rainbow Wahine Invitational, TBA, Honolulu, HI
23-27 - ITA Regional TBA Fort Worth, TX
NOVEMBER
6-9 - ITA National Indoor Individuals,, TBA, Charlottesville, VA
JANUARY
24 - University of Virginia, Noon, Charlottesville, VA
25 - William & Mary, 11 a.m., Williamsburg, VA
31 - ITA National Team Championships, Rd of 64 vs Georgia Tech, TBA, Atlanta, GA
FEBRUARY
1 - ITA National Team Championships, Rd of 32 vs Arizona St/Florida St., TBA, Atlanta, GA
8 - Auburn, Noon, Ft. Worth, TX
13-16 - ITA National Team Championships, Rd of 16 - Finals, TBA, Madison, WI
21 - NC State, 1 p.m., Ft. Worth, TX
22 - Miami, 11 a.m., Ft. Worth, TX
26 - Texas Tech, 6 p.m., Lubbock, TX
28 - Alabama, Noon, Ft. Worth, TX
MARCH
6 - Texas A&M, 6 p.m., College Station, TX
8 - Michigan, 10 a.m., Ft. Worth, TX
12 - Fresno St., 7 p.m., Fresno, CA
14 - Pepperdine, 1 p.m., Malibu, CA
18 - SMU, 6 p.m., Dallas, TX
27 - San Diego State*, Noon, San Diego, CA
28 - UNLV*, Noon, San Diego, CA
31 - Baylor, 2 p.m., Ft. Worth, TX
APRIL
3 - Utah*, 2 p.m., Ft. Worth, TX
4 - BYU*, 2 p.m., Ft. Worth, TX
5 - New Mexico*, 10 a.m., Ft. Worth, TX
9 - Air Force*, Noon, Albuquerque, NM
10 - Colorado State*/Wyoming*, 10 a.m./5 p.m., Albuquerque, NM
22-25 - Mountain West Championships, TBA, Albuquerque, NM
MAY
8-10 - NCAA Team Championships 1st & 2nd Rounds, TBA, TBA
15-19 - NCAA Team Championships Final Rounds, TBA, College Station, TX
20-25 - NCAA Individual Championships, TBA, College Station, TX
*MWC match
BOLD - Home Matches
All times are Central Time Zone
