SPORTS

DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson men’s tennis team gears up for its second Fall event this weekend when they play host to the Davidson Invitational, Sept. 28-30, on the hard courts of the Davidson Tennis Courts.

This will be the 12th straight year the Wildcats will host their own invitational. Joining them at the invitational this weekend will be USC-Upstate, Queens from just down the road in Charlotte and Appalachian State. The invitational is a points system, with points being determined based on position. The No. 1 singles position is worth 16 points and going two points down at each position to No. 8, which is worth two points. The top doubles spot is worth eight points, then going down to No. 4, which is worth two.

“The team is looking forward to this weekend as most of the guys will get a chance to participate,” said head coach Drew Barrett, who is entering his 13th season. “We have a great group of guys returning from last season and some good young talent coming in with the addition of five first years. They all are ready to hit the courts and show what they can do. It should be a great tournament with the teams we are bringing in for the weekend.”

Play begins Friday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. and runs through the weekend finishing up on Sunday. The invite itself will be a flighted individual format with eight singles flights and four doubles flights.

Davidson’s Fall season this year will have it playing in five other tournaments. After this weekend, the Wildcats will travel down to Queens for a three-day tournament, Oct. 6-8. Next up will be the USTA/ITA Regional Championship in Cary, N.C., Oct. 13-15. The ‘Cats follow up with a trip to the UNCG in Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 21-23 and then play in the Charlotte Invite, Oct. 27-30. The final Fall event has Davidson traveling to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take part in the Wake Forest Invite, Nov. 3-6.

Returning from last season is eight letterwinners, with two starters part of the returners. Leading the way is Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year and two-time all-second team pick Axel Fries, who went a team-best 14-8 in singles play last year. In two years, the junior is 32-13 overall with a 27-13 mark in doubles action. Starter Thomas Mason is coming off an 11-7 season in singles play last year. The Wildcats concluded another successful campaign a year ago with a 16-7 overall record. The win total matched the 2017 squad and it is the first time since 1988 (20 wins) and 1989 (19) that they have won at least 16 matches in back-to-back seasons.