Women's Tennis Releases 2015-16 Schedule
Aug 4, 2015 | Women's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - Coming off of a momentous 2015 spring dual campaign, Tulane women's tennis head coach Terri Sisk was pleased to unveil the 2015-16 schedule for her Green Wave squad on Tuesday afternoon. After a fall schedule that will send the Wave from coast to coast, the Olive and Blue will face a 2016 slate that features 10 teams that finished with a top-75 national ranking last season, in which six of them qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
"Crafting the schedule was a lot of fun because I knew after the year we just had, it would be challenging yet doable," Sisk said. "The fall portion was designed to really push us individually against a lot of great players on great teams in different climates. We need to see those situations early in the year to make the necessary adjustments so we know what to expect in the spring as a team."
The Green Wave will kick off their fall portion of the schedule in familiar territory, traveling to Orlando, Florida, to compete at the UCF Tournament, Sept. 18-20. Next, Tulane jets off to the western side of the United States to partake in the Arizona Tournament in Tuscon from Oct. 2-4.
Then, the Olive and Blue compete in the annual ITA Southern Regionals from Oct. 15-18, this time hosted by Auburn University. There, Tulane individuals will get tested against the likes of student-athletes from Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU, South Alabama, and host Auburn, to name a few.
Finally, the Wave will wrap fall play with the 28th Annual Roberta Alison Classic in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The 2016 dual season will test the Green Wave immediately as nine of their first 12 matches are against teams that achieved a final national ranking last spring, starting with Florida State at home on Jan. 18.
Tulane will then ship out to Athens, Georgia, for the 2016 ITA Kickoff Weekend, with a chance to qualify for the ITA National Indoor Championships. Tulane is the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 Old Dominion on Jan. 22, with the victor going on to play the winner of the No. 1 Georgia/No. 4 Wyoming contest, on Jan. 23.
After returning home for a dual against Nicholls State on Jan. 30, the Wave head to Madison, Wisconsin for a Feb. 13 neutral court showdown with Texas Tech, a 2015 NCAA Championships qualifier. The next day, they'll play Wisconsin on their home courts before returning to New Orleans for a second straight Big Ten matchup vs. Maryland on Feb. 16.
The Olive and Blue will then remain home for an additional two matches vs. Colorado (Feb. 20) and Ole Miss (Feb. 22), before shooting down I-10 to battle in-state rival LSU in Baton Rouge on Feb. 24. Next, Tulane wraps February play with Arizona back home on Feb. 27.
Tulane begins March play in Houston against its fellow American member on the 11th, where the Wave will also remain for a neutral court clash with Kansas on the 12th. Tulane's lone home matches that month occur a week later when they host both Akron (March 19) and Louisiana Tech (March 20).
Next, the Green Wave begin to gear up for the conference tournament, as four of their final five matches are against American opponents: at UCF (March 25), at USF (March 27), at Tulsa (April 2), and vs Memphis (April 10), with a home contest vs. Stephen F. Austin also thrown into the mix on April 8.
Finally, the American Athletic Conference Championships will be held April 20-23 in Memphis.
"The spring portion is one of the best schedules since we restarted the program," Sisk stated. "A lot of nationally ranked programs who will definitely test our team in all areas ranging from climate, indoor, rowdy crowds, court speed, etc.
September through early January will be very important as we embark on this tough of a schedule but I know what this team is capable of, and more importantly, I know what they are hungry for so I'm very excited to get started."
