Sept. 9, 2004

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - TCU women's tennis coach Dave Borelli has announced the 2004-05 schedule. The Frogs will compete in seven fall tournaments before facing a challenging spring tilt. Thirteen of the 20 dual matches will pit TCU against teams that were in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Frogs will also host the 2005 C-USA Championship at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in April.

"We're excited about this season's schedule," said Borelli. "We're facing a really challenging schedule for the second year in a row as we have some matches with some top 20 programs. Getting two perennial top-10 non-conference teams (Clemson and William & Mary) to come to Fort Worth and play speaks volumes as to where our program is going."

TCU will get the year started when it sends players to three different tournaments in the first week of the fall season on Sept. 13-19. Individuals will play at the Matamoros Tournament (13-19) in Matamoros, Mexico, the Baylor Invitational (17-19) and the North Texas Invitational (17-19).

After playing in the Rice Invitational to close out the month of September, Borelli will send his players to the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The championship is the premiere hard court event of the fall season and features the top players in Division I tennis.

The Frogs will follow up the Riviera by playing in the ITA Southwest Regional in College Station, Texas, on Oct. 15-19. The singles finalists and the doubles champion from the regional will advance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Michigan.

TCU will close out the fall season at the Arizona State Invitational on Nov. 5-7 in Tempe, Ariz.

The Frogs open up their spring schedule with four of their first five duals at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The home and spring opener for the team will come on Feb. 5 against Texas State before it welcomes North Texas to Fort Worth on Feb. 9.

On Feb. 13, TCU will see how it stacks up against one of the elite teams in the nation when Clemson comes to town. The Tigers finished the 2004 season ranked No. 5 in the nation after making it to the semi-finals of the NCAA Championships.

The Frogs will travel to their neighbor in the metroplex, SMU, in Dallas for a match on Feb. 19. The two squads split the two meetings a year ago, however it was the Mustangs knocked the Frogs from the NCAA Regionals in May.

TCU returns home for a match with Baylor on Feb. 22 before hitting the road for four straight matches from Feb. 27-March 12. The Frogs open the road trip with a match-up against Tulsa on Feb. 27 and continue north for three games at three Big Ten universities. The team plays Purdue (Mar. 9), and two NCAA participants in Indiana and Ohio State on March 10 and 12, respectively.

On March 18, the Frogs return home and play their fourth straight Big Ten opponent when Iowa comes to Fort Worth. The following day, the team welcomes Middle Tennessee State to town.

TCU will follow up its short two-game homestand with a tough three-match stretch against three teams that were in the NCAAs and ranked among the top 35 in the nation a year ago. The Frogs start the road trip with a West Coast swing that begins on March 23 with the Women of Troy, the No. 8 team in the nation last season after advancing to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. The following day, the team heads to Malibu, Calif., to face Pepperdine on the 24th. On the return trip to Fort Worth, the Frogs will stop in Norman, Okla., for a contest with the Sooners, a team that ranked No. 22 at year's end.

To close out the regular season, the Frogs will play six straight home matches. Conference USA foe Houston opens up the homestand on April 2, before NCAA participant South Alabama comes to town a day later. On April 8-9, the Frogs will play Rice and Tulane, respectively. The Green Wave, the reigning C-USA champions, finished the 2004 season ranked No. 11 in the nation. TCU will close out the regular season with dual matches against UT-Arlington and William & Mary.

The postseason will start right in the team's backyard as the Frogs will host the 2005 C-USA Championship at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The facility was the host to the 2002 championship, which is the last time that TCU won the conference title.

"We're really excited to host this championship," said Borelli. "We've brought in some talented freshmen and transfers to go along with some key returnees. We feel this team has the chance to be one of the best teams ever at TCU."

-www.gofrogs.com-