Razorbacks Release 2017 Schedule
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Coming off a fall season that featured an ITA Central Regional singles title for Jose Salazar and an ITA/USTA National Indoor Championships singles title for Mike Redlicki, the Arkansas men’s tennis team looks to carry that momentum into the spring season in 2017.
The 2017 schedule features 12 home dates, beginning with the season opener on Jan. 14 against Tulsa. It also includes seven night matches, starting with SMU on Jan. 20. Arkansas will play 17 matches against opponents that finished the 2016 season ranked in the top 50, including 12 in the top 25.
Head coach Andy Jackson welcomes back eight returners from last year’s team that finished 20-9 and a program-best 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play. That team won 20 games for the first time since 1986, earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, and finished the season ranked No. 20 in the nation.
“We like our schedule,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be very challenging, especially at the beginning, where we play seven of our first eight matches against teams that finished in the top 25, and then the SEC schedule is as challenging as ever. We feel like we’re going to have a good team, and it’s a schedule that presents a lot of opportunities for a high-quality team. We will have to be very sharp, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge that this schedule provides us.”
Other nonconference highlights include home matches against Texas and defending national runner-up Oklahoma. Arkansas will also play at Oklahoma State and face Illinois and either Oklahoma or Michigan, as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Razorbacks begin SEC play with three straight matches on the road against Alabama (March 5), Tennessee (March 10) and Georgia (March 12), before playing host to South Carolina on March 16 and Florida on March 18.
Arkansas will also play at home against Mississippi State (March 23), Auburn (March 25), Kentucky (April 14) and Vanderbilt (April 16) and travel to LSU (March 31), Texas A&M (April 2) and Ole Miss (April 7). The SEC season will conclude with the SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee, which starts April 26.
For more information on Razorback men’s tennis, please follow @RazorbackMTEN on Twitter.
