Colorado University Athletics
Men's Tennis to Face No. 2 Georgia at National Indoors Friday
BOULDER ? The University of Colorado men’s tennis team embarks on their biggest tournament in recent memory traveling to the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA)-Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Men's Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 17-20 at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The Buffaloes (4-0) are the No. 15 seed in the 16-team field and will play No. 2 seed Georgia (4-0) this Friday, Feb. 17, 3:30 p.m. (mountian). The Bulldogs are also the No. 2 nationally ranked school, while the Buffaloes are No. 53. The match can be viewed on the University of Washington web site at http://gohuskies.collegesports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/usta-ita-06.html
The Buffs advanced to the national indoor after defeating Utah and host Boise State as the No. 3 seed at the Mountain Regional this past January.
“It is always exciting to compete for championships, but when it’s for a national championship it’s doubly special,” CU head coach Sam Winterbotham said. “There are 16 elite teams in Seattle all working towards the same goal. The guys have worked extremely hard to get this opportunity and I want for them to enjoy it. They are going to soak in the atmosphere, gain that invaluable experience and have fun fighting for every point.
“What is also important is this event gives our program the nation exposure we deserve. Recruits know that coming to the University of Colorado means they get to compete against the best teams in the nation, at the elite events. They also get to spend four glorious years in our Boulder paradise, representing one of the finest institutions in the nation.”
The Feb. 17-20 USTA-ITA National Team Indoor Championship is collegiate tennis' premier indoor team tournament. It began in 1973 and each season offers a preview of the teams to beat at the season-ending NCAA Championships in May. This will be the fourth time since 1999 that Washington will be hosting the event.
The schedule of play for the Feb. 17 first round matches is as follows (all times Mountain, seeding in parenthesis in tournament listed first; national ranking is listed second):
(4, 4) Pepperdine vs. (13, 38) Florida State, 9 am (at Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center)
(5, 5) Mississippi vs. (11, 10) South Carolina, 9 am (at Seattle Tennis Club)
(1, 1) Florida vs. (16, 63) Pennsylvania, Noon (Nordstrom)
(8, 8) Baylor vs. (9, 9) Duke, Noon (STC)
(2, 2) Georgia vs. (15, 54) Colorado, 3:30 pm (Nordstrom)
(7, 7) UCLA vs. (10, 15) LSU, 3:30 pm (STC)
(6, 11) Virginia vs. (12, 14) Washington, 6:30 pm (Nordstrom)
(3, 3) Illinois vs. (14, 46) Arkansas, 6:30 pm (STC)
Eleven of the top 12 teams from the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings highlight this year's field. Top-ranked Florida, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Pepperdine and No. 5 Mississippi are among this year's title favorites. Florida opens against Penn in noon match at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and No. 2 Georgia follows against Colorado at 3:30 pm. Host Washington, the No. 12 seed, will open against No. 6 Virginia at 6:30 pm. UW has advanced the quarterfinals two of the previous three times it has hosted.
Baylor beat Virginia in last year's final held in Chicago. It was the first final appearance for both schools. Illinois won its second straight USTA-ITA title the last time the event was held in Seattle in 2004. Prior to Illinois' consecutive titles a Pac-10 school had won the tournament every year since 1987.
The USTA-ITA began in 1973 and is the ITA’s longest-running event. In its formative years it was held in Madison, Wis., and was staged as an eight-team national invitational tournament, but not all of the top teams initially chose to participate. It was in Madison where John McEnroe helped Stanford to the 1978 title. After Madison and one year in Princeton, N.J., the tournament was actually held outdoors at UCLA for three years before beginning a stint in Louisville, Ky., from 1985-98. Louisville also hosted in 2000, ’02-03. Washington first hosted in 1999 and again in 2001 and '04. The University of Illinois hosted the 2005 event at the Mid-Town Tennis Club in Chicago.
Matches will take place at two different locations. The Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center is located on the UW campus, just north of Husky Football Stadium. The Seattle Tennis Club is located at 922 McGilvera, Blvd., just over three miles from campus.
Quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be broadcast live by Ken Thomas on RadioTennis.com on Feb. 18-19. Event information is also available at gohuskies.com and itatennis.com.