Saturday, January 25
Seattle, WA
11:00 AM
University of Washington
vs
Kentucky vs. USC
Photo by: Red Box Pictures
Huskies Set To Host ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 22, 2020 | Women's Tennis
SEATTLE --- Washington welcomes three of the country's top women's tennis programs to the Nordstrom Tennis Center for the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament as the Huskies host the event for the first time in program history on Saturday and Sunday.
Washington, ranked No. 17 in the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released earlier today, is one of 15 regional institutions hosting the first two rounds of the tournament this weekend with the winners advancing to the 2020 National Team Indoor Championship February in Chicago.
The tournament kicks off with Kentucky facing No. 11 USC on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with Washington taking on Princeton at 2:00 p.m. The winners of the two matches Saturday play Sunday at 2:00 p.m. with the winner advancing the National Team Indoor Championships. A consolation match between the teams which lose Saturday will be played at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Admission to all matches is free with pizza served after the doubles point of both UW matches on Saturday and Sunday.
Washington has opened the season strong, posting a 4-1 record through the start of the spring season. The lone loss was a tough 4-3 defeat to No. 16 Florida State in a neutral site match in Hawaii. The Huskies return all but two players from last season's team including a pair currently ranked in singles play.
Senior Katarina Kopcalic has opened the dual portion of the schedule ranked No. 88 and 4-1 in the dual season while playing at No. 3. Kopcalic was 8-5 during the fall including a 1-1 mark against ranked opponents. Junior Vanessa Wong has won seven-straight matches dating back to the fall and is a perfect 5-0 in singles play and 2-0 in doubles play in the spring. She is currently ranked No. 102.
Senior Natsuho Arakawa has lost just two matches through 16 played this season and is also a perfect 5-0 in singles play this spring while riding an eight-match winning streak. Sophomore Sedona Gallagher has posted a 5-0 record at No. 4 this season, making quick work of her matches, losing just 12 games thus far. She is also 13-2 overall in doubles play.
Washington's first-round opponent will be a familiar foe as the Huskies faced Princeton in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament: a 4-0 UW win in Seattle. Saturday's match will be the first of the season for the Tigers.
On the other side of the bracket, Kentucky heads to Seattle fresh off a pair of wins in its final tune up on Tuesday. The Wildcats are 5-0 on the season thus far after going 19-9 (.679) in 2018-19—the program's best season since going 19-8 (.704) in 2007.
Another familiar foe rounds out the four-team field in Pac-12 rival USC. Saturday's match will also be the first of the season for the Trojans who finished the 2018-19 season with a 20-8 record, reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Huskies were one of 15 teams selected to host the first two rounds based on their final ranking in the 2018-19 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The ITA Kickoff Weekend is unique in college athletics in that each regional is determined via the Kickoff Weekend Draft, where each team selects which regional they wish to participate in. Selections are made in order of the final rankings.
Washington hosted the 2019 Indoor Team Championships at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, earning an automatic berth as the host school. The Huskies lost 4-0 to No. 2 Vanderbilt in the first match, but pulled off an impressive 4-3 upset win over No. 14 North Carolina State in its second match, catapulting the Huskies into the ITA Top 10.
UW is 17-16 all-time in the Indoor Team Championships and Kickoff Weekend, finishing in the top 12 five times including a third-place finish at the 2004 event. The Huskies last advanced out of the first two rounds in 2011, upsetting Texas and host Florida State by 4-3 scores before dropping three matches and finishing 15th at the final site in Charlottesville, Va.
Washington, ranked No. 17 in the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released earlier today, is one of 15 regional institutions hosting the first two rounds of the tournament this weekend with the winners advancing to the 2020 National Team Indoor Championship February in Chicago.
The tournament kicks off with Kentucky facing No. 11 USC on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with Washington taking on Princeton at 2:00 p.m. The winners of the two matches Saturday play Sunday at 2:00 p.m. with the winner advancing the National Team Indoor Championships. A consolation match between the teams which lose Saturday will be played at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Admission to all matches is free with pizza served after the doubles point of both UW matches on Saturday and Sunday.
Washington has opened the season strong, posting a 4-1 record through the start of the spring season. The lone loss was a tough 4-3 defeat to No. 16 Florida State in a neutral site match in Hawaii. The Huskies return all but two players from last season's team including a pair currently ranked in singles play.
Senior Katarina Kopcalic has opened the dual portion of the schedule ranked No. 88 and 4-1 in the dual season while playing at No. 3. Kopcalic was 8-5 during the fall including a 1-1 mark against ranked opponents. Junior Vanessa Wong has won seven-straight matches dating back to the fall and is a perfect 5-0 in singles play and 2-0 in doubles play in the spring. She is currently ranked No. 102.
Senior Natsuho Arakawa has lost just two matches through 16 played this season and is also a perfect 5-0 in singles play this spring while riding an eight-match winning streak. Sophomore Sedona Gallagher has posted a 5-0 record at No. 4 this season, making quick work of her matches, losing just 12 games thus far. She is also 13-2 overall in doubles play.
Washington's first-round opponent will be a familiar foe as the Huskies faced Princeton in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament: a 4-0 UW win in Seattle. Saturday's match will be the first of the season for the Tigers.
On the other side of the bracket, Kentucky heads to Seattle fresh off a pair of wins in its final tune up on Tuesday. The Wildcats are 5-0 on the season thus far after going 19-9 (.679) in 2018-19—the program's best season since going 19-8 (.704) in 2007.
Another familiar foe rounds out the four-team field in Pac-12 rival USC. Saturday's match will also be the first of the season for the Trojans who finished the 2018-19 season with a 20-8 record, reaching the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Huskies were one of 15 teams selected to host the first two rounds based on their final ranking in the 2018-19 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The ITA Kickoff Weekend is unique in college athletics in that each regional is determined via the Kickoff Weekend Draft, where each team selects which regional they wish to participate in. Selections are made in order of the final rankings.
Washington hosted the 2019 Indoor Team Championships at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, earning an automatic berth as the host school. The Huskies lost 4-0 to No. 2 Vanderbilt in the first match, but pulled off an impressive 4-3 upset win over No. 14 North Carolina State in its second match, catapulting the Huskies into the ITA Top 10.
UW is 17-16 all-time in the Indoor Team Championships and Kickoff Weekend, finishing in the top 12 five times including a third-place finish at the 2004 event. The Huskies last advanced out of the first two rounds in 2011, upsetting Texas and host Florida State by 4-3 scores before dropping three matches and finishing 15th at the final site in Charlottesville, Va.
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