Frog netters announce 2008-09 schedule
8/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 21, 2008
-2008-09 TCU Men's Tennis Schedule
FORT WORTH--TCU men's tennis Head Coach Dave Borelli announced the details of his team's 2008-09 schedule Thursday. The Frogs will face a tough slate featuring at least 10 opponents who finished last season rated among the ITA's top-50 squads."This is one of the most challenging schedules we have had," Borelli said. "To be able to take the program to the next level, we need to play the great teams out there. We are excited about the prospects of playing this type of schedule."
As usual, TCU boasts an extensive fall slate featuring five tournaments over a month-and-a-half period. The Horned Frogs leave the state of Texas only once during the fall for the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 2-11 following a season-opening trip to the Baylor Invitational (Sept. 26-28). Those players not competing in the ITA event in Tulsa will play in the Collin College Invitational in Plano, Texas, Oct. 10-11.
TCU then heads to College Station, Texas, for ITA Regionals (Oct. 24-28) before concluding the fall season Nov. 7-9 at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas.
The spring season starts with a familiar opponent, as the Frogs face No. 22 Rice in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 21. The two squads met up in the first round of last season's NCAA Championships in a match won by the Owls that came down to a deciding No. 6 singles contest.
Rice is one of several former Southwest Conference rivals on TCU's 2009 schedule. The Frogs also face No. 8 Baylor (Feb. 25) and No. 20 Texas Tech (Feb. 28) on the road, while welcoming No. 23 Texas A&M (Feb. 18) and No. 43 SMU (date TBA) to Fort Worth. A showdown with No. 4 Texas also is possible at the ITA indoor regional in Austin Jan. 30-31.
In addition to the Texas A&M and SMU contests, TCU will play five other matches on its home courts at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center during a two-week stretch in March. The homestand begins with back-to-back matches with No. 54 San Diego and UT San Antonio March 6-7. The Frogs then welcome a pair of ACC opponents to campus in No. 39 Duke (March 9) and No. 28 Virginia Tech (March 13). A March 17 match against Columbia concludes the stretch.
A five-match road trip against some stiff competition precedes the long homestand. Contests include matches against No. 11 Tulsa (Feb. 21), No. 17 Oklahoma State (Feb. 22) and No. 6 Ole Miss (Feb. 26 in Waco), in addition to the meetings with Baylor and Texas Tech.
Conference play begins for the Frogs the first weekend of April, when they travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for matches against BYU, UNLV and Utah April 2-4. Competition then moves on to San Diego, Calif., where TCU is scheduled to face New Mexico, San Diego State and Air Force April 9-11.
The annual MWC Championships will be hosted by New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M., April 22-25. The first and second round of the NCAA Championships follow at individual campus sites May 8-9, while the finals will be held March 14-25 in College Station, Texas.
