TOLEDO, Ohio - The University of Toledo men's tennis team opens the fall portion of its 2019-20 season with the Rocket Invitational on Sept. 20-22 at the UT Varsity Courts and at Shadow Valley in Maumee, Ohio. Competition will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Sunday's schedule is to be determined. The tournament format will be hidden dual/simultaneous play.
"We are very excited about hosting this event and playing on our home court," said head coach
Al Wermer. "These new guys bring a lot of energy and competitiveness. It will be a lot of fun seeing them develop. They're enthusiastic learners."
Returning for the Rockets are seniors
Thawin Suksathaporn and
Danilo Vukotic, junior
Nikola Arsic, and sophomore
Cole Shoults. Suksathaporn went 10-12 in dual match singles play last season on the No. 4 and No. 5 courts and earned the clinch point for the Rockets' 4-0 sweep over UIC. Vukotic also went 10-12 in dual match singles from the No. 2 court, earning six two-set victories on the season. As a freshman, Shoults primarily played doubles with
Juan Carranza, posting a 10-9 (4-3 MAC) record from the No. 3 doubles court.
Joining the Rockets fresh from a D-II NCAA national championship with Barry University is junior transfer
Filip Zupancic. Zupancic went 5-0 in singles last season and 9-2 in doubles at Barry. Rounding out the Rockets' 2019-20 roster are freshmen
Max Skaer (Swansea, Ill.),
Luis Kleinschnitz (Eichenau, Germany), and
Krzysztof Wetoszka (Szczecin, Poland).
Toledo went 10-13 (3-4 MAC) in dual match play last season, posting sweeps over Wright State, UIC, and Ashland. The Rockets also notched 4-3 victories over Chicago State and Ball State.
The Rocket Invitational is one of four tournaments the men's tennis team will compete in this fall. The Midnight Blue & Gold is also slated to host Alumni Day on Oct. 5.
Last Time at the Rocket Invitational
The Rockets opened last season with the Rocket Invitational. Vukotic tallied singles wins against Youngstown State's Joao Garretto, Cleveland State's Luke Philips, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Suksathaporn earned a singles victory over Cleveland State's Benjamin Slade and, paired with Vukotic, defeated Duquesne's Joey Matthews/Alejandro Rodrigues-Vidal in doubles play. Shoults tallied a win against Duquesne's Graham Conron and a doubles victory with
Vince Anzalone over Western Michigan's Zac Faveri/Kris Knoff. Arsic earned two doubles victories on the weekend, teaming up with Carranza to defeat Duquesne's Dane Bendel/Jari Hanhimaki and teaming up with
Luka Vitosevic to earn the win over Detroit Mercy's Adam Zychowicz/Gvidas Motuzas.
The Rockets will also be doing a flash t-shirt giveaway via their Instagram page toledomtennis. For followers, keep an eye out over the course of the weekend to know when to stop by the UT Varsity Courts, show that you follow the team and pick up your shirt.
This Year's Field of Competition
Case Western Reserve
Chicago State
Eastern Illinois
Toledo
Valparaiso
Wayne State
Youngstown State
Daily Schedule (by location, Toledo matches in bold)
Friday, Sept. 20
UT Varsity Courts
10:00 a.m. Wayne State vs. Toledo
12:00 p.m. Chicago State/Youngstown State vs. Eastern Illinois
2:30 p.m. Eastern Illinois vs. Toledo
5:00 p.m. Chicago State/Youngstown State vs. Toledo
Shadow Valley
1:00 p.m. Case Western Reserve vs. Valparaiso
3:30 p.m. Case Western Reserve vs. Wayne State
5:30 p.m. Valparaiso vs. Eastern Illinois
Saturday. Sept. 21
UT Varsity Courts
9:00 a.m. Toledo vs. Case Western Reserve
11:30 a.m. Eastern Illinois vs. Case Western Reserve
1:30 p.m. Toledo vs. Valparaiso
3:30 p.m. Chicago State/Youngstown State vs. Case Western Reserve
Shadow Valley
9:00 a.m. Chicago State/Youngstown State vs. Valparaiso
11:30 a.m. Chicago State/Youngstown State vs. Wayne State
2:00 p.m. Wayne State vs. Eastern Illinois
4:30 p.m. Valparaiso vs. Wayne State
Sunday, Sept. 22
Sunday's schedule is to be determined.
