AUSTIN, TEXAS – The No. 37 University of Hawai`i men's tennis team competes in the 2011 ITA Kick-Off Weekend Jan. 29-30, at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center on the campus of University of Texas. Joining UH are the host and No. 5 ranked Longhorns, No. 29 Rice University and No. 34 Alabama.
By finishing at No. 35 of the final 2010 Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll the Rainbow Warriors gained an invitation to the Kick-Off Weekend, in essence the qualifying rounds for the 2011 ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
UH gained a bid to the Texas regional, one of 15 sites across the nation. The 15 schools that win both of their matches at the regional will advance to the main draw of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Washington on Feb. 18-21.
The No. 4 seed Rainbow Warriors will open with top-seeded and No. 5 ranked Texas. That match will start at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. The Rainbow Warriors will then meet either Rice or Alabama on Sunday, Jan. 30. Each team is guaranteed two matches during the weekend.
UH had a rough start following a 7-0 loss to No. 14 Duke in its spring season opener on Jan. 8. Nevertheless, the Rainbow Warriors are looking to come out strong in their first match of the weekend against the nationally ranked Longhorns. Texas finished the 2010 season ranked at No. 4 and advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for a fifth consecutive year.
The Longhorns have a nationally ranked singles player in No. 78 Vasko Mladenov and a trio of nationally ranked doubles players including -- No. 5 Ed Corrie and Jean Andersen, No. 15 Ben Chen and Daniel Whitehead and No. 25 Kellen Damico and David Holiner. Rice boasts a nationally ranked player in singles action with No. 44 Harry Fowler.
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Who: No. 37 Hawai`i, No. 5 Texas, No. 29 Rice and No. 34 Alabama.
When: Jan. 29-30
Where: Penick-Allison Tennis Center on the campus of University of Texas
Schedule: Saturday, Jan. 29 – Rice vs. Alabama 10:00 a.m.; Hawai`i vs. Texas, 10:00 a.m.; Sunday, Jan. 30 – Losers bracket 10:00 a.m.; Winners bracket, 2:00 p.m.
-UH-
