Aug 19, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The newly-renovated courts at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center will serve as the venue for seventeen dual matches prior to hosting the 2014 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament, as was announced, early Monday, by Vanderbilt men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage. The release of the 2013-14 schedule displays some of the top teams from around the country, including twelve programs that were ranked in the top 25 at the conclusion of last season.
“We always like to put the schedule together with the postseason in mind,” said Duvenhage. “That being said, the stronger your schedule is the better prepared you will be for the postseason.”
Assistant coach Jamie Hunt had similar thoughts.
“We play one of the most competitive schedules in the entire country. We feel it prepares us to reach our goal every year, which is to win an SEC and National Championship.”
The Commodores kick things off with their first of three trips to Athens, Ga. for the Southern Collegiates from September 13-16. Vanderbilt will then play host to the SEC Fall Classic, which is set for September 19-22 and will give a preview to some of the top-talent from around the Southeastern Conference.
“The SEC Fall Classic is a great opportunity for us to get ready for the season. Facing conference opponents will allow us to see where we need to be and what we need to do in order to compete,” Duvenhage explained. “For us though, if we execute, the positive results will follow.”
The fall season wraps up with trips to Tulsa, Okla. for the ITA All-American (Sept. 28-Oct. 6), Knoxville, Tenn. for the ITA Regional (Oct. 11-15), New York for the ITA Indoors (Nov. 7-10) and Athens, Ga. for the Bulldog Scramble (Nov. 7-10).
The `Dores will open competition in the New Year with a double-header on Jan. 19 as they welcome Marquette for a noon match before taking on Belmont at 4:30 p.m.
The Currey Tennis Center will then act as one of the 15 host sites nationwide for the ITA National Kick-off weekend. Vanderbilt will serve as the top-seed in the Nashville bracket and will take on fourth-seeded Texas on Jan. 25. Wake Forest will be the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 Louisiana State. Each team is guaranteed two matches, with the team that finishes 2-0 advancing to the National Indoors on Feb. 14.
“It means a great deal to this program to be able to host the kick-off weekend,” Duvenhage said. “We’ve been in this tournament for a number of years and haven’t hosted, so for us to put together a season like we did last year and get awarded with a host site is a great honor. I feel this is one of the strongest regionals in the country and we are very excited to play it at home.”
Following Kick-off weekend, the Commodores will host Northwestern (Feb. 2), Middle Tennessee State (Feb. 9) and Memphis (Feb. 14) before their first weekend road trip to Bloomington, Ind. and Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on the Hoosiers of Indiana (Feb. 21) and the Wolverines of Michigan (Feb. 23).
The SEC slate kicks off on February 28 when Vanderbilt travels to Arkansas in a match-up against the Razorbacks. The team then travels to LSU on March 2 before heading back to Nashville for five-straight against Ball State (Mar. 7), Texas A&M (Mar. 9), Ole Miss (Mar. 14), Mississippi State (Mar. 16) and interstate rival Tennessee (Mar. 21).
The Commodores close out their season with matches at Georgia (Mar. 23), Alabama (Mar. 28) and Kentucky (Apr. 6), along with hosting Auburn (Mar. 30), Florida (Apr. 11) and South Carolina (Apr. 13).
The 2014 conference schedule comes to its peak on April 16, when the `Dores host the SEC Tournament. The last time Vanderbilt held the five-day conference tournament was 2004.
Last season the Commodores only hosted the NCAA Regional Tournament. The 2013-14 season will see the `Dores play host to numerous top-tier tournaments.
“A year ago we didn’t host anything until the NCAA Regional,” said Duvenhage. “This year we are potentially hosting four tournaments including SEC’s and hopefully another NCAA regional. It is going to be an exciting season for our program.”
The NCAA Regional will be held from May 11-13 (site to be determined) with the NCAA Championships running from May 15-26 in Athens, Ga.
