Sept. 9, 2010

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's tennis team will open its fall slate of tournaments this weekend when the Midshipmen play host to the annual Navy Invitational in Annapolis. Weather permitting, the three-day tournament that begins Friday will be played outdoors on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. The nearby Tose Family Tennis Center will be utilized should poor weather force any of the matches indoors.

The Mids, winners of the last four Patriot League titles, will open the tournament Friday when they take on Niagara in a 2 p.m. match. Navy will be back on the courts Saturday at 9 a.m. to face St. Bonaventure before closing play Sunday at 2 p.m. against Temple.

No team scoring will be utilized this weekend. Instead, the players will be competing as individuals in a flighted tournament.

"We have been working on utilizing a variety of shots in our practices the past two weeks," said Navy head coach John Officer. "Our goal is to be able to hit every shot technically correct. We hope to use these shots this weekend against solid competition."

Navy returns the bulk of its starting lineup from a year ago. This includes four all-league players in Owen Bullard (Sr., Concord, N.C.), Jeremy New (Sr., Glen Allen, Va.), Nicholas Gutsche (So., Sarasota, Fla.) and Marcus Rebersak (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.). Also back for the Mids is 2010 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for men's tennis) Nick Birger (Sr., Belleville, Ill.), who will serve as this year's team captain.

Navy Invitational Schedule
Sept. 10
10 a.m., St. Bonaventure vs. Temple
2 p.m., Niagara at Navy
Sept. 11
9 a.m., St. Bonaventure at Navy
2 p.m., Niagara vs. Temple
Sept. 12
9 a.m., St. Bonaventure vs. Niagara
2 p.m., Temple at Navy