TEMPE, Ariz. - Looking to build upon the solid foundation he grew in 2018, head men's tennis coach Matt Hill and the Sun Devil men's tennis squad will kickoff this season on Jan. 18 in Durham against Duke.
"With one season under our belt, we feel so much better about heading into this season," Hill said. "We're confident about the recruits being added and the fact that most of our guys already know what college tennis is like as compared to this time last year."
Similar to last year, ASU is set to play one of the toughest non-conference schedule in the country again. This season's schedule includes nine top-25 teams by the ITA/Oracle end of season poll last year and the top four teams in the nation in No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Texas A&M. ASU took on five of the top-10 ranked teams in the nation last year.
"Our philosophy has always been to play the best teams in the country," Hill said. "We felt Duke and Wake Forest would be a good way to start the year and to see where we match up against the top programs at the beginning of the season."
After opening the year at Duke, the Sun Devils will drive an hour west for a matchup with the defending national champion and host of the NCAA National Championships in 2018, Wake Forest. The tilt is set for Jan. 19, and from there the squad heads to the Lone Star state for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. ASU chose to play at host site TCU, and will take on Oklahoma State on Jan. 26.
Pepperdine comes to Tempe on Feb. 2 for the Sun Devils' first home match of the season. After that, it's back out on the road to face Ohio State and Indiana and then to a familiar foe in Texas A&M. The Aggies came to Tempe last season for an opening weekend matchup with the Sun Devils.
From there, the Sun Devils return home for a matchup with San Diego before finishing off their non-conference slate on the road for another weekend in Texas. ASU travels to take on Baylor on March 22, and then TCU two days later on March 24.
@SUNDEVILMTENNIS 2019 OUT-OF-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Jan 18: @Duke
Jan. 19: @Wake Forest
Jan 26-27: ITA Kickoff Weekend
Feb. 2: Pepperdine
Feb. 8: @Ohio State
Feb. 10: @Indiana
Feb. 15-18: National Indoors
Feb. 22: @Texas A&M
Feb. 24: San Diego
Mar. 15-17: Indian Wells Tournament
Mar. 22: @Baylor
Mar. 24: @TCU
"With one season under our belt, we feel so much better about heading into this season," Hill said. "We're confident about the recruits being added and the fact that most of our guys already know what college tennis is like as compared to this time last year."
Similar to last year, ASU is set to play one of the toughest non-conference schedule in the country again. This season's schedule includes nine top-25 teams by the ITA/Oracle end of season poll last year and the top four teams in the nation in No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Texas A&M. ASU took on five of the top-10 ranked teams in the nation last year.
"Our philosophy has always been to play the best teams in the country," Hill said. "We felt Duke and Wake Forest would be a good way to start the year and to see where we match up against the top programs at the beginning of the season."
After opening the year at Duke, the Sun Devils will drive an hour west for a matchup with the defending national champion and host of the NCAA National Championships in 2018, Wake Forest. The tilt is set for Jan. 19, and from there the squad heads to the Lone Star state for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. ASU chose to play at host site TCU, and will take on Oklahoma State on Jan. 26.
Pepperdine comes to Tempe on Feb. 2 for the Sun Devils' first home match of the season. After that, it's back out on the road to face Ohio State and Indiana and then to a familiar foe in Texas A&M. The Aggies came to Tempe last season for an opening weekend matchup with the Sun Devils.
From there, the Sun Devils return home for a matchup with San Diego before finishing off their non-conference slate on the road for another weekend in Texas. ASU travels to take on Baylor on March 22, and then TCU two days later on March 24.
@SUNDEVILMTENNIS 2019 OUT-OF-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Jan 18: @Duke
Jan. 19: @Wake Forest
Jan 26-27: ITA Kickoff Weekend
Feb. 2: Pepperdine
Feb. 8: @Ohio State
Feb. 10: @Indiana
Feb. 15-18: National Indoors
Feb. 22: @Texas A&M
Feb. 24: San Diego
Mar. 15-17: Indian Wells Tournament
Mar. 22: @Baylor
Mar. 24: @TCU