GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's tennis teams will compete at the ITA Southeast Regional Championship this weekend at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
For the Tusculum men, senior Will Gee and juniors Rens Verhaar and David Negzaoui will compete in singles, with Gee and Negzaoui along with Verhaar and junior Angus Howard entered in doubles. The Tusculum women will have senior Ylva Frafjord Landa and freshman Emma Kotzmannova in singles play, and the two will partner up for doubles action as well.
The Pioneers did not compete at last year's ITA Southeast Regional Championship due to the immediate aftereffects of Hurricane Helene.
Gee and Verhaar each have previous ITA experience for the Pioneers, with both advancing to the Round of 32 during the 2023 tournament. Landa was a singles quarterfinals in 2023 and went to the Round of 32 during her freshman season in 2022.
Singles play begins on Friday, September 26 with first and second-round matches. Third-round matches will be Saturday, September 27, followed by the quarterfinals on Sunday, September 28. The semifinals and finals will be played Monday, September 29.
In doubles, action begins Friday with first-round matches, with the second and third rounds on Saturday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held Sunday, with the championship match on Monday.
For the Tusculum men, Verhaar will face Mason Harmon of Young Harris in his first match on Friday at 10:30 a.m. Negzaoui is scheduled to take on Miguel De Rueda of UVA Wise on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Gee will play in the B flight and square off with Alessandro Valletta of Catawba on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
In doubles, Howard and Verhaar will play Kristoffer Dalbak and Philip Peter Carstensen of Mount Olive in Flight A, with Gee and Negzaoui battling Joao Luis Silva and Ben Brandl of North Georgia in Flight B, with both first-round matches on Friday at 8 a.m.
The Pioneer women will begin singles play Friday afternoon as Landa takes on Marta Melnichenok of Lincoln Memorial at 1:30 p.m. and Kotzmannova faces Ilona Hernandez Sanchez of Coker at 2:30 p.m. Landa and Kotzmannova will play in doubles at 9 a.m. Friday against Simone Szovan and Nina Bernier of Mount Olive.
