University Park, Pa. – Penn State men's tennis set its schedule for the upcoming spring season. Last season, the team went 20-10 overall and 11-1 at home.
"We are looking forward to this season with so much anticipation," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We have a true blend of experienced players and new players on the roster. As a staff, we know it is our job to mold these groups together to make a run for the Big Ten Championship in April."
In addition to five Big Ten home matches, the Nittany Lions will also host seven non-conference contests.
The team will see their first action of the season at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest, Kentucky and East Tennessee State will be at the tournament.
The Blue and White will then host seven consecutive non-conference home matches, including two doubleheaders on Feb. 16 against Duquesne and Saint Francis in addition to hosting Penn and Bucknell on Feb. 23.
Penn State will then travel to Michigan (Feb. 29) for its first Big Ten matchup of the spring. The squad will return home to faceoff against Princeton (March 6) before heading back out on the road to face reigning Big Ten Champions, Ohio State (March 8).
During the week of spring break, the Nittany Lions will travel across the country to play in the San Diego Shakedown, their second tournament of the season, March 14-15.
Upon returning to campus, with the exception of one match against Cornell (March 22), the rest of the Blue and White's schedule will be conference play starting with Michigan State (March 20). Iowa (March 27) and Nebraska (March 29) will come to Happy Valley next to make for an action-packed weekend.
To open up April action, Penn State will travel to the Hoosier State to take on Indiana (April 3) and Purdue (April 5).
Finishing out their home schedule, the Nittany Lions will welcome Illinois (April 10) along with Northwestern (April 12) for Senior Day.
Finally, to close out the spring 2020 regular season, the team will go on the road for a pair of matches against Minnesota (April 17) and Wisconsin (April 19).
To wrap up on conference season, the Big Ten Tournament is set to take place in Bloomington, Ind., April 23-26.
"Our schedule is daunting but I wouldn't have it any other way," Zinn said. "I've always believed that you should play the toughest competition you can find early and that gets you ready for the big matches later on in the season. It's an exciting time for Penn State tennis and we can't wait to get started."
"This is an exciting time for our program with so much new talent coming in," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "There is going to be some challenges to face, but the guys have prepared for this for some time. Losing six lineup players in two years is never easy, but I feel we did a great job recruiting young talent that will make a solid contribution quickly."
Keep up with the Penn State men's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at Penn State Men's Tennis and follow our twitter @pennstateMTEN.