KU Netters Return to Columbus for ITA Kick-off Weekend

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the second-straight season, the Kansas tennis program earned a spot in the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-off Weekend event, as the Jayhawks will make a return trip to Columbus, Ohio for the January event. KU competed against Notre Dame in Columbus this past May in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The ITA Kickoff Weekend, which is slated for January 26-29, 2018, debuted in 2009 as a qualifier for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Sixty schools compete for 15 spots in the national tournament, with the host school receiving an automatic bid. The women’s national indoors will return to the University of Wisconsin’s campus in Madison, Wis., Feb. 9-12.

After the 15 ITA Kickoff Weekend host sites were named, a draft was held in the order from the final ITA rankings as the participating schools selected from the available site locations. Winners and losers pair up the following day for championship and consolation action.

The Jayhawks, which finished the season ranked No. 39, will be the No. 4 seed and open the event against host No. 3-ranked Ohio State.  No. 19 Arkansas and No. 33 Wake Forest round out the field from the Columbus site.

KU posted a 1-1 mark in the 2017 event, after notching a 4-1 victory over Clemson and dropping a 4-0 match to host Vanderbilt.