As head coach Matt Knoll embarks on his 20th season at the helm of the Baylor men’s tennis program, he unveiled his team's 2016-17 schedule Thursday.
Overall, BU's schedule currently features 11 fall individual tournaments, one spring individual event and 24 dual-matches. The Bears will host 11 opponents in the dual-match season, while traveling for the 13 remaining matches.
On Friday, BU will open its fall season at the Napa Valley Tennis Classic from Sept. 16-18 in Napa, Calif. Sophomore Jimmy Bendeck, freshmen Constantin Frantzen and Bjoern Petersen, along with senior Max Tchoutakian will make up the Bears’ contingent at the first fall event.
From Sept. 23-25, Baylor will be in Athens, Ga., for the Southern Intercollegiate, which is hosted by the University of Georgia. Next the Bears will compete in the ITA All-American Championships, Oct. 1-9, in Tulsa, Okla.
In the first of four ITF Futures events, BU athletes will take part in the Houston Futures, Oct. 10-16, in Houston. Meanwhile, Tchoutakian was selected to compete in the second-annual Oracle/ITA Masters, which runs Oct. 13-15, in Malibu, Calif.
The three other ITF events, include the Harlingen Country Club $25K Futures, Oct. 17-23, in Harlingen, Texas, the Birmingham Futures, Oct. 31-Nov. 6, in Birmingham, Ala., and the Niceville Futures, Nov. 7-13, in Niceville, Fla.
As a way to qualify for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate, the Bears will play the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships, Oct. 19-21, in Fort Worth, Texas. If players advance, they will play the national event Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, N.Y.
In the final fall tournament, select BU athletes will travel to Rolling Hills, Calif., for the Jack Kramer Club Invitational, which is slated for Nov. 10-13.
The 2017 portion of Baylor's schedule concludes the individual season on Jan. 13 with the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which runs til Jan. 15.
Baylor opens its dual-match season by hosting a doubleheader on Jan. 21 with Incarnate Word and Grand Canyon coming to the Hurd Tennis Center.
Next up for the Bears is the ITA National Indoor Kick-Off Weekend, which will serve as the qualifying rounds of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. BU faces Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, on Jan. 27 and the winner of that match will face the winner of SMU/Mississippi on Jan. 28.
If it wins both matches of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Baylor will again take part in ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 17-20.
In between the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and the national event, the Bears have three matches. First, BU will play two neutral site matches in Houston against Lamar on Feb. 3 and then a rematch with Texas A&M on Feb. 5. The three-match stretch ends with Purdue in Waco on Feb. 10.
Following the indoor championships, Baylor will host a three-match home stand, starting with a doubleheader against Abilene Christian and UT Arlington on Feb. 25 and closing with a Feb. 27 tussle against Central Florida.
BU’s next three matches will be on the road, before heading to Indian Wells, Calif., for three neutral site matches. On March 6, the Bears travel to face South Florida at a neutral site in Bradenton, Fla., and then head to California for the next five matches.
First up on the West coast will be a match against UC Santa Barbara on March 9, followed by a March 11 tilt against UCLA.
BU then participates in the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge, with three neutral site matches on March 17-19, in Indian Wells, Calif.
Four of the next five matches are played at home as the Bears return to Waco. Baylor hosts a doubleheader against Memphis and Prairie View A&M on March 26, followed by a brief visit to Tulsa, Okla. as they conclude non-conference action against Tulsa on April 2.
The Bears open up Big 12 Conference play in Waco as they host Oklahoma on April 7 and Oklahoma State on April 9 at 6 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Baylor concludes conference play with the three following matches: Texas on April 12 in Austin, Texas, TCU at home in Waco on April 19, and Texas Tech on April 22 in Lubbock. All three matches are slated for 6 p.m.
The 2017 Big 12 Championships will be held in Norman, Okla. on April 28-30, while the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships will be held at select campus sites, May 12-14. The final 16 teams in the NCAA Championship will travel to Athens, Ga. on May 18-23, to determine the NCAA champion. Following the team portion, the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be May 24-29 in Athens as well.
