University of North Carolina Athletics
Sam Paul and the Tar Heels are scheduled to return to indoor action in January.
Photo by: Dana Gentry
Men's Tennis To Host ITA Kickoff Again In 2021
December 11, 2020 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL—The second-ranked University of North Carolina men's tennis program will host a weekend full of tennis action at the 14th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kickoff Weekend on January 24-25, 2021.
The #2 Tar Heels will host the weekend and welcome #21 Duke, #22 South Carolina and #28 Northwestern to Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center next month. UNC will play Northwestern and Duke will play South Carolina on Sunday Jan. 24, with the winners to meet on Monday for the right to advance to the ITA National Team Indoors in Champaign, Ill.
Carolina hosted the Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill and advanced to the finals of the 2020 ITA National Indoors before falling to USC.
"We're very excited to host the ITA Kickoff Weekend," UNC head coach Sam Paul says. "We'll be hosting three great teams who are very well coached. It should be a big challenge and a fun weekend."
The 2021 Kickoff Weekend be held Jan. 22-25 and will consist of seven host sites with four-team pods per site. In keeping with the innovative nature of this event, teams selected their Kickoff Weekend site during the Kickoff Weekend Draft on December 7th. In addition, all dual matches being played during the weekend of January 22nd will be considered part of the Kickoff Weekend umbrella and an official starting date for college tennis.
"Throughout this pandemic, the number one priority in our decision-making process has been, and will continue to be, the safety, health and welfare of our players, coaches, officials and host site staffs," Cory Brooks, ITA Senior Director of Championships, said. "Over the last few months it became clear that a 16-team final site would be too large a hurdle to overcome. We believe that the size reductions will provide us the best chance at successfully completing a Kickoff Weekend and Team Indoor Championships in a safe and responsible manner."
The Men's National Team Indoor Championship will be hosted February 12-14th by the University of Illinois at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Illinois. The fields will consist of the seven teams advancing from their Kickoff Weekend tournaments and host school Illinois.
"As we have done throughout the pandemic – including throughout the summer with our 2020 Oracle ITA Summer Circuit and the ITA Tour: Fall Circuit by UTR – our Association continues to demonstrate that college tennis is strong and that tennis is a leading safe, social-distancing sport," ITA CEO Dr. Timothy Russell, added. "Our decisions at the ITA are made after consulting leading national health authorities. We are grateful to our two outstanding host institutions for their hard work and dedicated commitment to offering a chance to showcase our sport safely while allowing top teams to compete for a coveted national championship."
The Division I National Team Indoor Championships are a longstanding event in college tennis history. The men's National Team Indoor Championship began in 1973 and has been hosted throughout the country. Likewise, the women's championship has been played every year since 1988.
The #2 Tar Heels will host the weekend and welcome #21 Duke, #22 South Carolina and #28 Northwestern to Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center next month. UNC will play Northwestern and Duke will play South Carolina on Sunday Jan. 24, with the winners to meet on Monday for the right to advance to the ITA National Team Indoors in Champaign, Ill.
Carolina hosted the Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill and advanced to the finals of the 2020 ITA National Indoors before falling to USC.
"We're very excited to host the ITA Kickoff Weekend," UNC head coach Sam Paul says. "We'll be hosting three great teams who are very well coached. It should be a big challenge and a fun weekend."
The 2021 Kickoff Weekend be held Jan. 22-25 and will consist of seven host sites with four-team pods per site. In keeping with the innovative nature of this event, teams selected their Kickoff Weekend site during the Kickoff Weekend Draft on December 7th. In addition, all dual matches being played during the weekend of January 22nd will be considered part of the Kickoff Weekend umbrella and an official starting date for college tennis.
"Throughout this pandemic, the number one priority in our decision-making process has been, and will continue to be, the safety, health and welfare of our players, coaches, officials and host site staffs," Cory Brooks, ITA Senior Director of Championships, said. "Over the last few months it became clear that a 16-team final site would be too large a hurdle to overcome. We believe that the size reductions will provide us the best chance at successfully completing a Kickoff Weekend and Team Indoor Championships in a safe and responsible manner."
The Men's National Team Indoor Championship will be hosted February 12-14th by the University of Illinois at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Illinois. The fields will consist of the seven teams advancing from their Kickoff Weekend tournaments and host school Illinois.
"As we have done throughout the pandemic – including throughout the summer with our 2020 Oracle ITA Summer Circuit and the ITA Tour: Fall Circuit by UTR – our Association continues to demonstrate that college tennis is strong and that tennis is a leading safe, social-distancing sport," ITA CEO Dr. Timothy Russell, added. "Our decisions at the ITA are made after consulting leading national health authorities. We are grateful to our two outstanding host institutions for their hard work and dedicated commitment to offering a chance to showcase our sport safely while allowing top teams to compete for a coveted national championship."
The Division I National Team Indoor Championships are a longstanding event in college tennis history. The men's National Team Indoor Championship began in 1973 and has been hosted throughout the country. Likewise, the women's championship has been played every year since 1988.
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