September 29, 2009

By Ashley Bryant
Special to howard-bison.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - For the men's tennis team, this year is no different than past seasons-the objective is to win. The team plans to fill out its roster in January by adding two more players to the lineup. Head Tennis Coach Larry Strickland aims to "build onto a very solid team this year."
 
The team kicked off its season at the Georgetown Invitational Sept. 18 to Sept 20, and will head into back-to-back tournaments, the Hampton Roads Invitational Oct. 2 to Oct. 4 and the ITA Regionals Oct. 23 to Oct. 25. 
 
After holiday recess, the Bison will head on the road for a series of away games. They face off with the Terps in College Park, Maryland Jan. 31. , Navy Feb. 6, William and Mary Feb. 7, NJIT Feb. 13, UMBC March 11, and UMES March 13.
 
In Bison territory, the men take on Winston-Salem State March 14 before they head off for another series of away games. Their first stop on the road is Virginia Beach, as they compete in the Virginia Beach Team Tournament March 16 to March 18. After the beach, they continue on their journey to match up with the University of Richmond March 20, Coppin State University March 21, and George Mason University March 24.
 
On March 27, the men welcome Morgan State University to HU and then head off to Emmitsburg and Delaware to square up against Mount St. Mary's University March 30 and Delaware State University April 2.
 
The men square up against the other HU, Hampton University, in Bison territory April 3 and take a walk up to GU and GW for a match April 6 and April 9.
 
The men challenge Longwood University April 10 and Virginia State University April 11 in their last home games and suit up for the MEAC Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina April 16 to April 18.
 
Strickland is expecting a lot of improvement from last year's players and help from those new to the squad. Watch out for freshman Devard Wharton, sophomore Eric Chavous and junior Christopher Brown.  Wharton will help out the team when he comes in January.
 
Strickland said spectators are in for a very good season from the men's and women's teams.