NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men’s tennis program officially finalized its spring slate, as head coach Mark Klysner announced his 2024 spring schedule on Thursday with action set to begin on Jan. 19.
“This is going to be one of the more challenging spring schedules we’ve had in years, as we have 27 matches on the schedule and will face several Power 5 schools as well nationally ranked programs,” Klysner stated. “I know the guys are pumped about playing some of the top teams in the nation and it will push us to be ready from the start. I think we have a deep team this year and have the talent to pull off some upsets, but time will tell.”
The Redbirds open the spring season with three road contests, before coming home for four matches indoors at the Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington. The slate begins in Oklahoma, with a Friday match at Tulsa (Jan. 19) before wrapping up the weekend in Norman against Oklahoma on Sunday (Jan. 21). A third road contest at Marquette will follow (Jan. 28), before the Redbirds head home to take on Lindenwood (Jan. 31) and host a doubleheader against Eastern Illinois and Prairie State College (Feb.4) to open the home slate.
A Sunday match against Bellarmine (Feb. 4) will round out the first homestand for ISU. A pair of matches in Kalamazoo, Michigan will follow against Western Michigan (Feb. 16) and Dayton (Feb. 17), before returning to the ERC for a doubleheader against Missouri-St. Louis and Illinois Wesleyan (Feb. 24) to finish out the month of February.
Competition in March begins with the Summit League opener for the Redbirds against Omaha (March 1), followed by a pair of matches the next two days in Chicago against Chicago State (March 2) and UIC (March 3). The road trip will continue in Bloomington, Indiana, when the Redbirds take on Indiana (March 8), before heading to Orlando for a trio of matches against Salve Regina (March 10), Florida State (March 10) and Marist (March 11). ISU will then head to Boise, Idaho, to compete in three matches at the Boise State Invite (March 22-23) against the likes of Boise State, Montana, Idaho, and Utah State.
The Redbirds will come back home for a Summit League match against Drake (March 27), before rounding out the month on the road against Nebraska (March 30). The final month of the regular season will feature primarily all Summit League matches, beginning with a road match at Oral Roberts (April 3) before returning to Central Illinois to take on North Dakota (April 7). The final two matches of the regular season will take place in Colorado, as ISU wraps up conference play against Denver (April 13) before capping things off against Metropolitan State-Denver (April 14).
With the regular season behind them, the Redbirds will then turn their focus to the postseason and the 2024 Summit League Championships, which will be hosted by Drake in Des Moines, Iowa (April 19-20).
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