After an eventful pre-season, men’s varsity tennis will mark the beginning of a promising season with the Whitman Shootout during the weekend of Feb. 10th. The Whitman Shootout is a weekend-long home event against many strong teams, including UC Santa Cruz, Montana and Lewis-Clark State. The matches will be played in the indoor tennis facility.

Coming off an outstanding season last year in which they dominated the Northwest Conference,   men’s tennis has had quite the pre-season. Between a trip to Hawaii in early January, and nearly beating Hawaii Pacific, the #22 team in DII, the athletes have been practicing and training hard. Coach Northam is optimistic about the upcoming season.

“Obviously the strong competition we have faced early this year will help us as the year progresses,” said Coach Northam. “I’m looking forward to seeing the development of the team and individuals on the team. The guys on the team have been working very hard on the games and fitness, and I’m excited to see how the season unfolds.”

The team will face its biggest home match of the year against UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, Feb. 11th at 6 p.m.

“[The match will be] a great opportunity for us to play one of the top teams in the nation on our home courts,” said Coach Northam. “We hope to have a great crowd at the match. We will be serving free pizza at the match, so come out, grab a slice of pie and watch some great tennis!”

The Shootout will start at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 with a match between Whitman and Lewis-Clark State.