2017-2018 Men's Tennis Preview
September 04, 2017 | Men's Tennis
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb men's tennis team looks forward to an encouraging 2017-18 campaign with Coach Mike Griffith in his 17th year at the helm of the Runnin' Bulldogs program.
The fall season has already commenced with a favorable showing this past weekend at the Belmont Abbey Fall Invite, as the Runnin' Bulldogs won 18 of 20 matches.
Their fall schedule features eight total events. The lone home match this fall will be their Alumni Match. The team is set to participate in the following matches this fall:
- (Sept. 8-10) Southern Exposure Sunroom's Invite at UNCW
- (Sept. 15-17) James Bonk Invite at Duke
- (Sept. 23) Alumni Match
- (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) Davidson Invite
- (Oct. 12-15) ITA Regional Tournament at Cary, NC
- (Oct. 27-29) Charlotte Invite
- (Nov. 3-5) Wake Forest Invite
Their spring schedule kicks off on January 13 at NC State. The team will compete in 25 total matches this spring including the Big South Conference tournament, which will take place on April 19-22 at Winthrop University.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will play their first home match of the season on February 7, as they host USC Upstate.
The team's spring schedule features seven Big South Conference matches, including one with 2016-17 Regular Season Champion Presbyterian College who boasted a 6-1 record in conference play.
Gardner-Webb placed second behind Presbyterian last season as they donned a 5-2 record in Big South play, while going 11-13 on the season.
Welcoming back two All-Conference selections in Maximilian Scholl and Breno Plentz, the Runnin' Bulldogs also return everyone from last year's roster, for a promising 2017-18 campaign. Gardner-Webb welcomes lone newcomer, Millen Hurrion, a Top 10 Junior Player from the UK.
Head Coach Mike Griffith looks forward to this season with high expectations claiming, "This is the best team I have had since 2010, in terms of work ethic and chemistry." He continued, "I believe we should be better than we were last year. But, it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the players think. They are 100% focused and determined to play up to their expectations."
