Roberts Announces 2017 Spring Slate
November 02, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With another spring season on the horizon, the Mississippi State men's tennis team and head coach Matt Roberts announced the 2017 schedule on Wednesday as the Bulldogs eye another return to the NCAA Championships in May.
"We've been working on this spring's schedule for sometime now and we are very pleased with what we have," Roberts said. "We've built a tough non-conference schedule with opponents that will not only prepare us for the demanding SEC schedule, but also postseason play. We're ready to get started in January and this season should be another exciting one for the Bulldogs."
Last season, MSU earned the program's 25th NCAA Tournament berth before securing its 12th Round of 16 appearance after an upset of No. 15 Illinois, 4-0, in Champaign. This season the Bulldogs set their sights on going even further as the Bulldogs prepare for a challenging non-conference campaign that leads into a tough Southeastern Conference slate.
The Maroon and White will face three 2016 NCAA Tournament teams with the possibility of a fourth in the non-conference schedule as Florida State, South Florida, Texas Tech and Tulane headline the out-of-conference opponents. The always-difficult SEC slate will feature eight NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago as MSU hosts four of those foes at A.J. Pitts during the spring.
The 2017 season officially begins on the road as MSU travels to Malibu to face host Pepperdine on Friday, Jan. 20, before making the trip to San Diego to take on San Diego State on Sunday, Jan. 22. The following weekend the Bulldogs head to Lubbock, Texas as State will again take part in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, facing Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 28 and then Iowa/Texas Tech on Sunday, Jan. 29.
The Maroon and White will stay on the road for another two matches as the Bulldogs make their way back east, settling in Florida where MSU faces Miami on Friday, Feb. 10 before traveling to Tampa to go up against South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Bulldogs will finally see A.J. Pitts on Friday, Feb. 24 as MSU hosts Tulane and then North Carolina State on Sunday, Feb. 26 to conclude the non-conference schedule.
In 2016 the Bulldogs finished fourth in conference as MSU earned its second-consecutive SEC Tournament semifinal appearance after downing No. 20 Kentucky, 4-2. In 2017 State will open SEC play on the road Sunday, March 5 against Auburn, before hosting Alabama the following Thursday on March 9.
MSU will have a back-loaded schedule that will feature five-straight home matches before the final weekend of the season on the road. During the home stretch the Bulldogs will host Ole Miss (March 25), Georgia (March 30), Tennessee (April 1), Texas A&M (April 7) and LSU (April 9).
On the road, State travels to before-mentioned Auburn (March 5) Kentucky (March 18), Arkansas (March 23) Florida (April 14) and South Carolina (April 16) to close out the regular season.
Postseason action will begin on Wednesday, April 26 as the Bulldogs compete in the 2017 SEC Championship from Knoxville, Tenn. The opening two rounds of the NCAA Championship will take place on Friday, May 12 until Sunday, May 14 at various sites across the country. If the Bulldogs should advance to the program's 13th Round of 16 appearance, MSU will make the trip to Athens, Ga., for the final rounds of the NCAA Championship beginning on Thursday, May 18, with the NCAA Individual Championships commencing on Wednesday, May 24.
2017 Schedule Breakdown
Social Media:
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"We've been working on this spring's schedule for sometime now and we are very pleased with what we have," Roberts said. "We've built a tough non-conference schedule with opponents that will not only prepare us for the demanding SEC schedule, but also postseason play. We're ready to get started in January and this season should be another exciting one for the Bulldogs."
Last season, MSU earned the program's 25th NCAA Tournament berth before securing its 12th Round of 16 appearance after an upset of No. 15 Illinois, 4-0, in Champaign. This season the Bulldogs set their sights on going even further as the Bulldogs prepare for a challenging non-conference campaign that leads into a tough Southeastern Conference slate.
The Maroon and White will face three 2016 NCAA Tournament teams with the possibility of a fourth in the non-conference schedule as Florida State, South Florida, Texas Tech and Tulane headline the out-of-conference opponents. The always-difficult SEC slate will feature eight NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago as MSU hosts four of those foes at A.J. Pitts during the spring.
The 2017 season officially begins on the road as MSU travels to Malibu to face host Pepperdine on Friday, Jan. 20, before making the trip to San Diego to take on San Diego State on Sunday, Jan. 22. The following weekend the Bulldogs head to Lubbock, Texas as State will again take part in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, facing Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 28 and then Iowa/Texas Tech on Sunday, Jan. 29.
The Maroon and White will stay on the road for another two matches as the Bulldogs make their way back east, settling in Florida where MSU faces Miami on Friday, Feb. 10 before traveling to Tampa to go up against South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Bulldogs will finally see A.J. Pitts on Friday, Feb. 24 as MSU hosts Tulane and then North Carolina State on Sunday, Feb. 26 to conclude the non-conference schedule.
In 2016 the Bulldogs finished fourth in conference as MSU earned its second-consecutive SEC Tournament semifinal appearance after downing No. 20 Kentucky, 4-2. In 2017 State will open SEC play on the road Sunday, March 5 against Auburn, before hosting Alabama the following Thursday on March 9.
MSU will have a back-loaded schedule that will feature five-straight home matches before the final weekend of the season on the road. During the home stretch the Bulldogs will host Ole Miss (March 25), Georgia (March 30), Tennessee (April 1), Texas A&M (April 7) and LSU (April 9).
On the road, State travels to before-mentioned Auburn (March 5) Kentucky (March 18), Arkansas (March 23) Florida (April 14) and South Carolina (April 16) to close out the regular season.
Postseason action will begin on Wednesday, April 26 as the Bulldogs compete in the 2017 SEC Championship from Knoxville, Tenn. The opening two rounds of the NCAA Championship will take place on Friday, May 12 until Sunday, May 14 at various sites across the country. If the Bulldogs should advance to the program's 13th Round of 16 appearance, MSU will make the trip to Athens, Ga., for the final rounds of the NCAA Championship beginning on Thursday, May 18, with the NCAA Individual Championships commencing on Wednesday, May 24.
2017 Schedule Breakdown
- The 2017 schedule features 20 matches, with eight of those at A.J. Pitts
- 12 teams made the 2016 NCAA Championship
- Season Opener: Pepperdine (Jan. 20)
- Home Opener: Tulane (Feb. 24)
- SEC Opener: Auburn (March 5)
- Senior Day: LSU (April 9)
- Eight opponents finished in the top 4 of their respective conferences (Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Pepperdine, South Florida, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Tulane)
- 15 teams earned winning seasons
- 18 teams finished 2016 in the top 75 (No. 7 Georgia, No. 10 Florida, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 17 South Florida, No. 20 Arkansas and No. 23 Kentucky, No. 26 Florida State, No. 27 Ole Miss, No. 31 Tulane, No. 35 LSU, No. 38 Vanderbilt, No. 41 Alabama, No. 45 South Carolina, No. 46 North Carolina State, No. 53 Pepperdine, No. 64 Auburn, No. 65 Iowa)
Social Media:
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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