University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Netters Set to Open Season at Princeton
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Three members of the Minnesota men’s tennis team will travel to Princeton, N.J., this weekend to compete in the Princeton Invitational.
Play gets underway at Princeton on Friday, Sept. 21, and will continue on Saturday and Sunday.
Headlining the Gophers competing at Princeton is senior Raoul Schwark. Schwark is ranked No. 41 in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles poll after posting a team-best 21-8 overall singles record last season, including a 16-6 mark in dual-match play. Schwark, who played at both No. 1 and No. 2 in the Gophers’ dual match lineup, was also selected to the 2007 Men’s Tennis All-Big Ten team.
Also competing at Princeton are senior Pierre Dumas and freshman Tobias Wernet. Dumas competed only during the fall last season and compiled a 2-1 record in limited action. Wernet, who will also team up with Schwark in doubles at Princeton, will be seeing the first action of his collegiate career.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Geoff Young, Minnesota returns five players from last year’s 15-10 campaign and to the mix have added three promising freshman. The Gophers finished the 2006-07 campaign with an ITA national ranking of No. 40 and will be out to build in a sixth-place finish in the Big Ten.
Despite a difficult non-conference schedule, Minnesota opened the 2006-07 season with an 10-3 record to rose as high as No. 14 in the national rankings. The Maroon and Gold had their ups and downs during Big Ten play, however, going 5-5 to finish the regular season with a 15-8 record. From there, the Golden Gophers were eliminated by Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Championship and by South Alabama at the NCAA Championships in Oxford, Miss.
