By Sally Milano, USTA.com
College tennis will be on display like never before when the 2017 College MatchDay season kicks off at the newly opened USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., and on several college campuses throughout the country.
This year, six College MatchDay events will be held at the National Campus’ 1,200-seat collegiate stadium, beginning with the men's match between Alabama and Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. ET. In addition to No. 21 Michigan, the No. 11 Florida men are also slated to compete at the National Campus in a MatchDay event this spring.
Also scheduled for the USTA National Campus are matchups featuring six women's teams currently ranked in the Top 15, highlighted by a rematch of last year's NCAA women's final between No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State.
The MatchDay events that will take place on college campuses feature three Top 5 men’s programs, including a meeting between No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Wake Forest, a match that will pit No. 1-ranked Petros Chrysochos of Wake Forest against top American prospect Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia.
Click here for the 2017 College MatchDay schedule
All nine College MatchDay events will be streamed live on ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
The series will also serve as a showcase for top American prospects, such as Ohio State’s Francesca Di Lorenzo, the No. 1-ranked women's player in the country, as well as North Carolina’s Hayley Carter and Florida’s Brooke Austin.
“We’re so excited for fans to be able to see the passion, tradition and talent on display during a collegiate team match with the College MatchDay series,” said USTA Collegiate Tennis Director Stephen Amritraj. “This is the most underrated property in tennis, and we’re excited to have these ‘bowl games’ of college tennis as a way to increase its visibility.”
Admission is free for each College MatchDay at the USTA National Campus, which will feature a free kids' clinic, live music, specialty food and drinks, games and giveaways on-site. The National Campus features the first off-campus stadium built specifically for college tennis.
Click here for more information.