CHICAGO, Ill. – The Illinois Tech men's tennis program will begin play in the 2017-18 school year. On Wednesday, the Scarlet Hawks announced the inaugural schedule, which features three September events before a busy spring.
"We are extremely excited to introduce men's tennis to Illinois Tech," said Erik Scanlan, the program's first-ever Head Coach. "Our schedule has a nice blend of skill levels, allowing us to create a winning culture while also getting the chance to take on some of the nation's top Division III talent."
The season begins on Thursday, September 14 at home. Playing at nearby Dunbar Park, the Scarlet Hawks will host Aurora University at 4:00 p.m. Tech will also play at Judson College (September 27) and the ITA Central Regional in Kalamazoo, Michigan (September 29-Ocotber 1). The ITA tournament is an individual competition during which select participants will compete.
In February, the bulk of the schedule begins, starting with a match against Millikin University at XS Tennis in Chicago on Sunday, February 11. The Scarlet Hawks will play indoor matches at the new facility this upcoming season.
After a quick trip to Illinois Wesleyan (February 17), the Scarlet Hawks will host both North Central College and Monmouth College on Sunday, February 18. Tech will follow with road contests at Olivet Nazarene University (February 21) and a pair of matches at Lakeland University on February 24 against Lakeland and Elmhurst College.
March will be a busy time for the Scarlet Hawks, as Tech will play 10 matches. Eight of the 10 matches will be away from Chicago, starting with a trip to Holy Cross College in Indiana on March 4. After a trip to the Quad Cities on March 9 to take on Augustana College, the Scarlet Hawks will play two matches at Calvin College on March 10. Tech will oppose both Calvin and Alma College in Michigan.
Two more road double-matches follow the trip to Michigan. On March 17, the Scarlet Hawks take on both Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wabash at UW-Whitewater. One week later (March 24), Tech heads to Rose-Hulman to oppose RHIT and Greenville. The month of March ends with two home matches on March 31 against Lake Forest College and Principia College.
The Scarlet Hawks will make three different trips to Wisconsin to close the season out in April. On April 8, Tech will play two matches at Edgewood College, taking on host Edgewood and UW-Lacrosse. Illinois Tech will then play road matches at Marian University (April 14) and Carthage College (April 21) to close out the schedule.
"From day one, we want to set a standard of competitiveness for our program," said Scanlan. "No matter the opponent, we are going to carry a competitive mindset into every match."