RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The UC Riverside Men's and Women's Tennis Teams are ready for another year as the Highlanders have announced their 2018-2019 schedules. Both teams will face an exciting set of opponents this year beginning in late January and ending in April with the Big West Conference Championship.
MEN'S TENNIS
After a successful season where the Highlanders broke the program's win record, the UCR Men's Tennis Team is set to get back on the courts and kick off the new season. This year's schedule plays out much like last season's as UCR will compete in several doubleheaders and take an eventful east coast road trip for the third straight year.
The Highlanders begin competition in Arizona playing three matches in two days. On January 19th the team will see Grand Canyon and Arizona Christian in a season opening doubleheader and end the road trip the following day at Arizona.
The squad will then return to the SRC Tennis Courts where it will host Air Force in its home opener on January 25th.
From there UCR will embark on an eight match road stint for all of February taking on a flurry of opponents from different conferences such as Southern Utah, UNLV, New Mexico State, and Weber State.
The bulk of the team's home matches take place during an eventful week in March (3/8-3/15) where the team hosts eight matches in eight days. During that time the Highlanders will face some local teams in Hope International, Azusa Pacific, and Concordia-Irvine, as well as as some out-of-state talent in Villanova, Navy, and Illinois State.
Following a huge home stint, the Highlanders head east in late march where they will pack seven matches into four full days of action and see many of the same teams from last season such as North Carolina A&T, Campbell, and Norfolk State. UCR put up a 5-1 record during last year's trip.
Big West Conference play is set to start on April 5th, as the team faces Hawaii on the road, and will wrap up at home on April 19th hosting UC Davis on Senior Day. The first round of the Big West Tournament is set for April 25 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
After its best season in seven years, the UC Riverside Women's Team is ready for a 2018-2019 season that features a group of tough teams and two big home stands that will have the Highlanders playing a total of 15 matches at the SRC Tennis Courts.
The Highlanders enjoyed a strong fall season competing in three tournaments and will look to carry some of that momentum into the January 26th opener at Long Beach. This will not just be the first match of the season, but also the first Big West competition, and from there UCR has the rest of its conference matches scattered throughout the season.
UC Riverside's home opener comes on February 1st against Hope International and the match marks the beginning of a five-match home stand that features San Jose State, Westmont, Nevada, and Hawaii.
In mid-February the Highlanders head to Las Vegas, Nevada to face Colorado State, UNLV, and New Mexico State before returning home for a huge home stand that branches from late February to early April.
During this nine-match stint at home, UC Riverside will see a mixture of Big West Teams and out-of-state talent such as Villanova, Weber State, Ball State, Illinois State, and Quinnipiac. On the conference side the Highlanders will host UC Irvine, Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, and CSUN. The match with the Matadors on April 6th will mark the team's Senior Day.
The Highlanders finish up the regular season on the road at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton before preparing for the Big West Conference Tournament on April 25th.
