GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Six tournaments await on the Tusculum University men's and women's tennis fall schedule, which begins this weekend at the Hidden Dual Invitational hosted by King University.
Head coach Adam Jackson and his teams will participate in three events in September and three more in October, wrapping up the fall portion of the schedule on the weekend of October 26-27 with events in both Charlotte and Knoxville.
"We made the decision to ramp up our level of competition during the fall season. Entering into more tournaments allows our players to have extra chances to compete, especially against some of the better players in the region," said Jackson, who is entering his fifth season as head coach. "The experience we gain during the fall will prepare us for one of the toughest schedules in Division II in the spring."
Following the competition at King this weekend, the Pioneers will host the Tornado in their only dual match of the fall on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. at the Nichols Tennis Complex.
Tusculum's men will then travel to the Mountain Lion Invitational at Young Harris, Georgia while the women will visit Cullowhee, North Carolina for the Western Carolina Invitational during the weekend of Sept. 21-22.
The largest meet of the fall for the Pioneers will be the ITA Southeast Regional which will be contested from Sept. 26 to 30 at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina. Many of the top teams from the region will send singles and doubles competitors, including the Pioneers' Annie McCullough who has advanced to the women's quarterfinals in each of the last two years.
Following an off weekend, the Pioneers will return to the courts at the Grizzly Open, hosted by NAIA power Georgia Gwinnett College from Oct. 11 to 13. Last season, McCullough won the women's singles A Draw title and teamed with her sister, Caitlin, for the doubles championship. Africa Mota was the B Draw singles winner for the second straight year, while David Akinpetide went to the semifinals in the men's A singles draw.
Tusculum will close the fall with a pair of first-time events on its schedule, which will be held the weekend of October 26-27. Several players will compete at the SAC Scramble in Charlotte, hosted by Queens, while the remainder of the squad will be in Knoxville for the Eagle Invitational, hosted by Carson-Newman.
The Pioneers will begin their spring schedule on Saturday, Feb. 2 with a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to face the University of Indianapolis. The spring regular season concludes on Wednesday, April 8 at Carson-Newman, followed by the SAC Tournament April 17-18 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
