ATLANTA (Feb. 9) — Upon taking over as head coach of Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team, Kenny Thorne said he wanted to vault the Yellow Jackets into the elite of college tennis by taking on the top teams in the nation. Thorne and the Jackets will get that opportunity this weekend when Tech travels to California for a three-match road swing against California, Stanford and Santa Clara.
The 62nd-ranked Yellow Jackets (1-2) take on No. 34 California at 4:30 p.m. Friday, No. 3 Stanford at 3 p.m. Saturday and Santa Clara at 3 p.m. Sunday. All times are Eastern.
“I want to play the best schools, and the California schools have traditionally been at the top of the rankings, ” Thorne said. “We are going out to play the best, and I am counting on our guys to play hard. It’s going to be a tough trip, but I also think it’s a good opportunity for us. Whenever you get the chance to play the top schools, you have to jump at it.”
Tech will be returning its 1999 NCAA Regional site when the Jackets play the third-ranked Cardinal on Saturday. The Jackets defeated Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Championships at Stanford last season before falling to the Cardinal in the second round.
Despite team losses to No. 50 William & Mary and No. 51 Middle Tennessee, Thorne has been pleased with the early play of freshman Roger Anderson (Pietermitzburg, South Africa), who is 3-0 in dual-match singles play.
“Roger has been playing better and better so far this season,” Thorne said. “He hasn’t lost a match yet, and we will see if he can step up to the play in California.”
