Aug. 12, 2012

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - After having one of the most successful seasons in program history, the women's tennis team will look to reach new heights as it embarks on its 2012-13 schedule, which was announced Sunday. The Crimson Tide is slated to take part in seven fall tournaments and two additional tournaments before starting the dual match portion of its schedule at the end of January.

"We're eager to embark upon our 2012-2013 season," said head coach Jenny Mainz, who is entering her 16th season at the helm. "Our strength of schedule is second to none and will help prepare us for the tenacious SEC season. We have improved our schedule and added some impressive invitational tournaments that will provide new challenges with exposure to players and teams inside the top five in the country."

For the second consecutive season, Alabama will begin fall competition at the Duke Fab Four Invite in Cary, N.C. on September 14-16. The next weekend, the Tide visits Greenville, S.C. for the Furman Fall Classic. Selected members of the team will take part in the USTA/ITA Riviera All-American Championships, which takes place in Los Angeles from September 29-October 7.

Alabama will hold back-to-back tournaments starting with its annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic, October 5-7, followed by the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships on October 19-22. The winner of the singles and doubles draws at the regional tournaments will then all meet at the National Indoor Championships in Flushing, N.Y. on November 8-11. The Tide concludes its fall schedule with a trip to the Dickie V Clay Court Classic in Sarasota, Fla. that same weekend.

Alabama resumes tournament play in January with a pair of cross-country trips with the first taking place January 4-6, at the Hawai'i Invitational in Kona. The Tide's final tournament will be held January 18-20, at the National Collegiate Tennis Challenge in Palm Desert, Calif.

Because of its final ranking of No. 11 last season, Alabama was selected as one of the host sites for the 2013 ITA Kick-Off Weekend, which welcomes in the start of the new dual match season across the country. The Tide will take on Memphis on January 26, and either Tulsa or Clemson on January 27. The team that wins both its matches that weekend will earn a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which will take place February 8-11, in Charlottesville, Va.

Alabama will host nine additional home dual matches throughout the 2013 season including Washington (Feb. 15), Texas Tech (Feb. 23), Arkansas (March 8), LSU (March 10), Auburn (March 15), Kentucky (March 29), Vanderbilt (March 31), Tennessee (April 12) and Georgia (April 14).

The Tide's first road matches of the season will take place in Texas as Alabama is slated to play TCU and SMU on February 2 and 3, respectively. Additional road matches include Mississippi (March 1), Mississippi State (March 3), Florida (March 22), South Carolina (March 24), Missouri (April 5) and Texas A&M (April 7).

2012-13 Alabama Women's Tennis Schedule