October 21, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 21, 2009
2009-10 Complete Schedule
URBANA, Ill. - The University of Illinois men's tennis team announced its 2010 spring schedule on Wednesday, highlighted by nine matches against opponents that finished in the top-25 of the final Campbell's/ITA rankings last season, including second and third-ranked Ohio State and Virginia.
"As always, we compete against some of the most talented and well-recognized programs in the country," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Each of our matches will test our skills, resiliency, and tenacity. I expect our student-athletes to rise to the challenges and we all look forward to a phenomenal home schedule."
The Illini open the season in Naples, Fla., for the Illinois-Florida Invitational, before heading home for a tough match against Virginia on Jan. 22 and ITA Kick-Off matches on Jan. 29 and 30. The squad will then spend the entire month of February on the road taking on Duke (Feb. 5), Tennessee (Feb. 7), and Florida (Feb. 28), which all finished in the top-25 last season. The Orange and Blue also will make a stop in Charlottesville, Va., for the ITA National Indoor Championships, Feb. 12-15.
The following month, the Illini will host five home matches, including Notre Dame (March 2), Texas A&M (March 5), which finished at No. 14, a doubleheader on March 19 versus Ball State and Illinois State and a Stanford program that finished tenth last season on March 23, while making stops at Northwestern (March 6), Wisconsin (March 21) and Pepperdine (March 27), which finished at No. 18.
The squad will round out its non-conference schedule at Kentucky, which finished at No. 15, on April 7, while hosting Big Ten opponents Indiana (April 4), Minnesota (April 10), Iowa (April 11), Michigan (April 23) and Michigan State (April 25) and traveling to Purdue (April 3), Penn State (April 16) and Ohio State (April 18).
The Big Ten Championships will be held April 29-May 2 at Indiana University, with the NCAA Championships being held May 20-31 at the University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
