Middle Tennessee women’s tennis, led by second year head coach Charlie Ramsay, has finalized its 2016-17 schedule, which includes two home fall events and eight dual matches in Murfreesboro.
“We are incredibly excited about this year’s schedule,” Ramsay said. “It provides us a challenging slate with nationally ranked competition all over the country. We will travel and play some very cool places and have a ton of experiences.”
The Wally Tidwell Pro Am (Sept. 9-10) is set to kick off the fall season for MT. This year’s Pro Am marks 30 years of the event. The team will then travel to South Carolina to compete in the South Carolina Fall Invitational (Sept. 16-18) in Columbia, S. C., followed by the USTA Pro Circuit 10K (Sept. 23-Oct. 2) in Charleston, S.C.
The team will split on Sept. 30-Oct. 2, as part of the squad will compete at the Steve Baras Fall Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., while another group will travel to Norman, Okla. to participate in the Oklahoma Invitational.
MT will be represented at the Vanderbilt Fall Invitational (Oct. 7-9) before hosting the ITA Ohio Valley Regional at the Adams Tennis Complex on Oct. 20-24. The Georgia State Hidden Dual (Oct. 28-30) and the Kitty Harrison Fall Classic (Nov. 4-6) will round out the fall season for the Blue Raiders.
“We’re very happy to be hosting regionals, which is the qualifying for the individual national indoor,” Ramsay added. “We have such a strong region with so many good teams. It will be a real treat to show off the ATC and I’m certain that it will serve as an amazing host site.”
Lipscomb and Belmont will open the season up in Murfreesboro against the Blue Raiders on Jan. 15. Matches against Tennessee and Wake Forrest in Knoxville are scheduled for Jan. 21 and 22, respectively.
MT opens the month of February up at home against WKU and UT-Martin on Feb. 4 before going on the road for nine consecutive matches away from Murfreesboro. A showdown with Illinois is schedule for Feb. 10, followed by two matches on Feb. 12 against Sam Houston and Tulsa. Conference USA foes FAU (Feb. 17) and FIU (Feb. 18) will host the Blue Raiders before they round out February in Chattanooga on Feb. 26 against the Mocs.
San Francisco will play host to the Blue Raiders on March 5, followed by a couple of matches in Fresno, Calif. against Fresno State (March 8) and BYU (March 9). MT will return to the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center on March 24 against VCU and is set to host Memphis on March 26. Tulane and New Orleans will host MT on March 31.
A neutral site match against LA Tech (April 2) will precede the final two home matches of the year against UAB (April 7) and Southern Miss (April 9). MT will conclude the regular season against South Alabama (April 14) and Troy (April 15) in Mobile, Ala. The 2017 C-USA Championship will be in Denton, Texas on April 20-23.
“We don’t shy away from tough competition,” Ramsay said. “That is how we are going to get better and get into the national rankings is by playing the best competition we can find. Playing those tough matches builds character and provides opportunities to get to the next level, which is what we’re doing.”
