Kansas tennis to kick-off 2019 in Stillwater
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head coach Todd Chapman could not be found on the tennis courts Thursday morning. Instead he was sitting at his computer. With the 15 host sites determined, Chapman owned the second draft pick in the 2019 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend Draft Powered by Slam.Tennis and controlled where the Jayhawks would open the 2019 campaign.
“I believe the draft for the ITA Kickoff Weekend for the ITA Indoor National Championship is one of the most-exciting things we do in college tennis,” Chapman said. “It is exciting to go through the draft process and see the whole bracket unfold.”
With the second pick, No. 18 Kansas claimed the second seed at the regional hosted by No. 14 Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks will open against No. 20 Illinois Friday, January 25 at 1 p.m., while the host Cowgirls will face No. 23 Virginia. The championship match is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., with the consolation being played at 11 a.m.
“We will definitely have our hands full at the Oklahoma State Regional,” Chapman said. “It will be one of the most-competitive regionals in the tournament. All four teams are ranked in the Top-25, so we are excited about the opportunity to really be tested early in the season. Our philosophy is to schedule as strong as possible in the nonconference (portion of the season), and we knew by choosing this regional, it would probably play out the way it did with the strength of the teams in Stillwater.”
There are 15 regionals played on the women’s side, with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to February 2019’s ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Washington will serve as the host for the National Team Indoors and received an automatic invitation to the event and is exempt from competing in the 2019 Kick-Off Weekend.
Host sites for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2017-18 Oracle ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The draft is held to fill the No.’s 2-4 seeds at all locations, again using the final national team rankings as a guide to determine draft order.
Opening round contests at each location pits the No. 1 (host) seed versus the No. 4 seed, and the No. 2 seed against the No. 3 seed. The two winners advance to the following day’s championship match, while the two losing teams will square off in a consolation match.
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