CHICAGO, Ill. – With the school year now fully underway, the start of new seasons for Illinois Tech athletic teams are set to begin. The first week of varsity action is a busy one, as five different Scarlet Hawk teams will compete.
Women’s Soccer opens up the home schedule with a match on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. against Knox College. Coming off of the program's first-ever appearance in the USCAA Tournament, Illinois Tech will look to open the season strong with the first of what will be 10 home matches at Stuart Field. A live webcast and live statistics will be available on both www.illinoistechathletics.com as well as the Scarlet Hawks Front Row app. The live webcast will be powered by Illinois Media School.
For Thursday’s contest, Hawk’s Nest is sponsoring a “White Out,” as all fans in attendance are encourage to wear the color white to support the Scarlet Hawks. Hawk’s Nest will also be sponsoring a potato chip giveaway.
Illinois Tech women’s soccer will open up the road schedule on Saturday, taking on Trine University in Angola, Ind. At 3:00 p.m. The match against Trine will be a re-match from a 2015 match which saw the Scarlet Hawks win 1-0 in Chicago. Trine will provide live statistics for the contest.
Men’s Soccer will open the season away from home, also playing on Wednesday night. Looking for its third consecutive season with a record above .500, the Scarlet Hawks will play at Marian University (Wis.) at 7:00 p.m. for the weeknight matchup. Marian competed in last season’s Illinois Tech Tournament, but did not oppose the Scarlet Hawks over the weekend. Live stats and video will be provided by Marian.
On Sunday, the home schedule opens up against Texas-Dallas at 1:00 p.m. The Comets will be in the Chicagoland area to oppose Wheaton College, University of Chicago, and the Scarlet Hawks. Tech will be the final opponent UT-Dallas will oppose on the trip. A live webcast and live statistics will be available on both www.illinoistechathletics.com as well as the Scarlet Hawks Front Row app. The live webcast will be powered by Illinois Media School.
Women’s Volleyball opens the season on Friday with the two-day, four-match Buc Blast Tournament at Beloit College. The Scarlet Hawks will oppose North Central University (Minn.) at 4:30 p.m. and Blackburn College at 6:30 p.m. on Friday before taking on host Beloit at 10:00 a.m. and Wisconsin Lutheran at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The Scarlet Hawks also played in the Buc Blast Tournament last season, winning all four matches. This season, Beloit is the only team Illinois Tech will see over the weekend presenting a re-match from last year’s tournament. Against the Buccaneers in 2015, Tech won in five sets behind 18 kills and 19 digs from Irena Grauzinis, who is now one of two fourth-year players on the Hawks.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country also opens up the season on Friday night. Both teams will compete at Elmhurst College’s Earlybird Invitational, which will be held at Eldridge Park in west-suburban Elmhurst, Ill.
The event is set to begin at 5:45 p.m. Traditionally, the Earlybird Invitational has been a 4k race for the women and a 6k race for the men, serving as a tune up for the typical 6k women’s races and 8k men’s races on the rest of the schedule. Last season, Tech’s men placed ninth at Elmhurst, while the women had three finishers in the event’s Top 50.