DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's tennis team kicks off its 2020 season this Sunday, Jan. 12 at Louisville and then at No. 6 Ohio State Wednesday, Jan. 15.
"I made our scheduling very tough this year," said Dayton head coach
Ryan Meyer. "Three of our first four matches are against Louisville, OSU and UK. This is a great opportunity to play against top notch competition and help prepare for A-10s."
"Louisville and Ohio State are two elite programs in college tennis, so having an opportunity to face them is very exciting and motivating," said junior
Will Harper. "I also love that these matches will open our season because that means we all have to be ready to go from day one.
"These matches will teach us a lot about ourselves as individual players and as a team unit, so it would be great to get the season started on the right foot," added Harper. "I expect myself and the entire team to bring our absolute best from the first day of practice in order to give us the best chance at causing some upsets."
The Atlantic 10 Championship will be April 23-26 in Orlando, Fla. at the USTA National Campus.
"Our ultimate goal is always going to be winning the Atlantic 10 championship," he added. "We are a young team but we have the talent to achieve this goal. My expectation is for this group of young men to grow tremendously during the next few months and be in a position to bring the title to Dayton."
The Flyers have six returners from last year's squad that went 16-8 and played in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals. Those returners are redshirt junior
Steven Karl, juniors
Parker Banning,
Will Harper,
Jayman Jhattu, and
Peter Schulteis, and sophomore
Joe DeMarco.
"I expect a lot from the upperclassmen. They all have experiences that they can share with the freshmen to help them mature at a quicker rate," said Meyer. "Our culture is very much team first.
"
Will Harper and
Steven Karl are ready to have a huge impact," he added, "Will's had some unfortunate luck with injuries his first two years but he's healthy and ready to go. Steven is our best competitor and has the ability to compete with anyone in the country."
The Flyers have five freshmen who will be competing this spring as well:
Connor Bruce,
Max DeCurtins,
Matt DeMarco,
Oliver Dunne, and
Georgi Mavrodiev.
Coach Meyer gives his assessment of the newcomers:
- Connor is someone who has a very high ceiling and a big game. I expect him to compete for the top of the singles and doubles lineup.
- Matt reminds me of Zach Berry from a few years back. He had a solid fall and has great potential and is continually growing.
- Georgi might be our best doubles player. We are going to need him to step his game up and continue to be aggressive.
- Oliver had a solid fall season. I think he's ready to show everyone what he's about and help us bring home a title.
- Max is probably our most improved player at this point. The kid works his butt off and is extremely coachable. He's had some bumps in the roads with nagging injuries but is getting close to being ready to go.
"I'm most excited for the matches against Louisville, Ohio State, and Kentucky because we don't get those kinds of opportunities every year. This is the first time I've been on a team that has faced Louisville and OSU," said Harper. "I'm really excited to see our freshmen compete against these great schools; they have all worked so hard thus far and now they have some unbelievable opportunities ahead of them."
The Flyers have 11 home matches this year. Those matches will be played at the South Regency Tennis Center in Miamisburg, Ohio.
"We switched clubs starting in the fall. It's been a great change for us," said Meyer. "The ownership is very invested in their facility and make us feel very welcome. We are looking forward to bringing big crowds to showcase their courts."
