Both the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams will host their home-openers this weekend at the Hanner Tennis Complex on Georgia Southern University’s campus. The men face in-state rival Kennesaw State on Saturday at 12 p.m. and both teams will take on Alabama State Sunday, with the men beginning play at 10 a.m. and the women beginning at 12 p.m.
Both teams are eager to face the new competition in the Sunbelt Conference, as this marks the first season for GSU in the FBS. The new conference holds fierce competition as well as great opportunity to make history, as the football team did in Fall 2014 with a conference win.
The men’s team already competed in Atlanta against Georgia Tech but fell 1-6 with a solid three-set win at one singles. Although Tech’s match did not fall in their favor, the men are ready to get back on their home turf and face new competition this weekend.
For the tennis program, both teams are currently under different coaching staffs than the previous season. The women enter this spring season with Michele Stanford in the head coach position with Annette Rios as assistant coach. GSU hired Stanford in the Fall season while Rios recently joined the team this Spring.
The men will compete with Carlos Oyaga as Interim Head Coach and Adam Taylor as the Volunteer Assistant Coach. The previous head coach, Nick Zieziula, begins his first seasonĀ at Binghamption University in New York this Spring.
Although both teams are under different staffing, their motivation is at an all- time high. Both the men’s and women’s programs know that this Spring can mark the beginning of a great run in the Sunbelt Conference. With new competition, new teams, new staff and new teammates, GSU has the ability to make history this Spring.
The full schedule for both teams can be seen HERE.