Tennis releases lofty 2016-17 schedule
9/13/2016 8:19:00 PM | Women's Tennis
FULL SCHEDULE
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State women's tennis team will play nine home matches beginning Jan. 13 against Prairie View A&M and hit the road for four tournaments during the 2016-17 season, first-year head coach Rob Hubbard announced Tuesday.
“We replaced our initial opening weekend with the Islander Open to get an extra week to get to know the girls to put in my way of doing things,” Hubbard said. “I know the girls are anxious to get ready and play. This will be three weeks of practice. Ultimately, our whole schedule is built to prepare us for January.”
The Bearkats will make their rounds in Texas beginning play Friday at the three-day Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islander Open. The following weekend, Sam Houston takes part in the Rice Invitational. After a weekend off, a trip to Dallas is in store for the all-day SMU invite on Oct. 7.
The 2016 ITA Regional Championships close out the fall slate as the top men's and women's players from around the country compete across 85 USTA/ITA Regional Championships. This year's event, scheduled for Oct. 20-24 will take place in Waco.
The Kats open the spring slate at home against Prairie View A&M (Jan. 13) at 2:30 p.m., the first of five non-conference matchups, before hosting UTRGV on Jan. 15. Out-of-league road trips include ULM (Jan. 28), Louisiana Tech (Jan. 29), SMU (Feb. 3) and Tulsa (Feb. 11-12).
Sam Houston, which qualified for nine straight Southland Conference Tournaments from 2005-2013, will seek to get back in the hunt for the league title, beginning play against Northwestern State on March 4 from the McAdams Tennis Center. The squad returns on day later to face Stephen F. Austin.
“The Southland is always tough,” Hubbard said. “Looking at the girls results last year, they struggled so much with the doubles and there were six or seven W's left on the table. I think that will put us on the mix even more. Our first goal is to make the tournament. As we work through the fall, we will focus on team goals to accomplish. First and foremost is that the girls have told me they want to be in the Southland Conference.”
After a trip to face Abilene Christian on March 12, Sam Houston returns for a Friday-Sunday split against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Kats will kick off the month of April with three straight home matches against Lamar (April 1), Nicholls (April 8) and McNeese (April 9).
The squad closes out regular season action with visits to New Orleans on April 15 and Southeastern Louisiana on April 16. The 2017 Southland Conference Championships will be held in Beaumont from April 28-30 as the Kats set their sights on a first ever Southland title.
Sam Houston welcomes back seven players from a season ago. The team notched victories against LSU-Alexandria, Prairie View, Montana State, South Dakota State, Missouri State, Nicholls and Incarnate Word last spring.
“The main thing I am putting into place is tactics and strategy for doubles which is probably a big weakness from last year,” Hubbard said. “I am looking for improvement in that aspect. If we improve, that's what I want. We are going up against some stiff competition, which is great. I have a certain way of doing things and if they do it and it doesn't work out, it's on me. The main thing right now for is me to get to know these girls better.”
