CHARLESTON, S.C. – The 2020 Citadel tennis season begins this weekend with four matches over two days in Columbia, and the schedule has been altered due to the threat of rain on Saturday, Jan. 11

The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to open the campaign with a doubleheader against South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 11, but those matches have now been pushed up to Friday, Jan. 10. The first match will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the second to follow at approximately 2 p.m.

On Sunday, Jan. 12, the Bulldogs will face off against USC Upstate and Charlotte. The Bulldogs and Spartans will tangle at 11 a.m. with the match against the 49ers slated to begin at 3 p.m.

STRONG RETURNERNING NUCLEUS
The Bulldogs return 10 players from last year's roster with a lot of balance to set them up for success. The group includes seniors Noah Nawabi, Jack Pyritz and Willem van Zyl, as well as juniors Will Graham, Garrett Sebold and Gavin Stewart. The sophomore class includes Brett Folsom, Luke Meetze, Phillip Quinn and Josiah Schainblatt. Last season, Stewart and Quinn led the team with 15 wins each in singles action. Nawabi and van Zyl each added double-digit wins as well.

FINDING A NEW NO. 1
The Bulldogs will be looking for a new No. 1 singles player in 2020 as Roy Hobson graduated last spring and is currently playing professionally overseas. Nawabi has played 11 matches at the No. 1 position  in his three seasons, tallying four wins, while van Zyl has played nine matches at the No. 1 spot with three wins.

NEW FACES IN THE PROGRAM
The Citadel added seven freshmen to the ranks in the offseason. The freshman class includes the likes of Everett Barkley, Zvonko Bencedic, John Cahill, III, Joseph Desser, Leo du Plooy, Tripoom Jala and Josh Wallen.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks ended the 2019 season ranked 19^th in the ITA Division I standings with a record of 18-10. South Carolina is led by sophomores Daniel Rodrigues and Raphael Lambling. Rodrigues is ranked 35^th in the nation in singles action heading into the season with Lambling ranked tied for 110^th. The duo is ranked 27^th in doubles action. The Gamecocks also return senior Paul Jubb, who went 38-4 last season, and junior Thomas Brown, who went 17-13 in 2019. Sophomores Jake Beasley and Beau Pelletier also return. Last season, Beasley went 15-8 with Pelletier posting a 21-15 mark.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
USC Upstate went 3-17 in 2019 with wins over Belmont Abbey and two over Hampton. The Spartans are led by senior Fernando Bernardes, juniors Luka Eble and Tom Russwurm and sophomore Frederick Sydow. Last season, Bernardes went 6-5 in singles action with Eble adding four wins, Russwurm adding two wins and Sydow contributing three victories.

SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Charlotte went 10-15 last season with a 4-3 win over No. 23 Penn. The 49ers' roster includes seniors Constandinos Christoforou, Ignasi de Rueda and Leonardo Menezes, juniors Collin Thomson and Benjamin Wayand, and sophomores Nathan Griffith and Henry Lieberman. Wayand recorded 15 wins in singles action last season, while Christoforou and Lieberman each posted 13 wins and Rueda added 11.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs till next travel to Knoxville, Tennessee where they will face off against the University of Tennessee and the University of Pennsylvania on Monday, Jan. 20.

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