UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The Penn State women's tennis team and head coach Chris Cagle have announced the 2019 schedule. This year's slate is highlighted by 12 home matches and six matches against teams that were selected for the NCAA tournament.
Cagle is in his eighth season at the helm for the Nittany Lions. The team is led by junior captains Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) and Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.). Additionally, Penn State returns four sophomores and brings in three freshman and a sophomore transfer.
"We are excited to release our spring 2019 schedule," said Cagle. "The combination of our Big Ten schedule along with a tough non-conference schedule will be a great test for our team this spring. We open up with an number of home matches in January, which will be nice and we will need a great home court advantage to get our season going. We will be on the road a good bit in February against a number of Big Ten teams and other quality competition. I have been excited to see our team work hard this fall and look forward to seeing that take us into 2019. I look forward to seeing what this team can do in the spring season!"
The Nittany Lions will kick off the season with six home matches, beginning with Navy on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 11 a.m. and closing the month out with a double header against George Washington and Towson on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Penn State's first road test of the season will also open Big Ten play, when they travel to Rutgers on Friday, Feb. 1 at 12:30 p.m. The team will then return home to take on Cornell Sunday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.
The Nittany Lions will then begin a six game road stretch. Beginning in Huntington, W.Va. at Marshall University the team will take on Furman Saturday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. and will then take on the hosts Sunday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.
The road stretch is highlighted by a trip to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. to take on VCU on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 12 p.m. They will finish up on the road at Ohio State in Big Ten action on Sunday, Mar. 17.
Penn State will briefly return home for a match against Nebraska on Sunday, Mar. 24 at 10 a.m.
Returning to the road Penn State will take on Michigan on Friday, Mar. 29 at 3:30 p.m. and then Michigan State on Sunday, Mar. 31 at 1:00 p.m.
Finally heading home for four games, beginning with Big Ten foe Minnesota on Friday, Apr. 5 at 5 p.m and ending with Purdue on Sunday, Apr. 14 at 11 a.m.
To close out the spring season, the Nittany Lions will once again hit the road. The squad will face off against Illinois on Friday, Apr. 19 at 5 p.m. and Northwestern on Sunday, Apr. 21 at 12 p.m.
After the regular season concludes, the Big Ten Championships will be hosted by Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb. from Apr. 25-28.
The full schedule is available here.
All times are in Eastern Standard Time on the schedule and are subject to change. Please check GoPSUsports.com for updated times.
Keep up with the Penn State women's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewten and follow our twitter @pennstateWTEN.
