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WICHITA, Kan. – The spring season officially begins for the Wichita State men's tennis program this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend where the Shockers will face No. 9 Ohio State on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 9 a.m. CT.

About the ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Ohio State is one of 15 host schools for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend with four schools competing at each site. Joining the Buckeyes and Shockers in Columbus are South Carolina and Denver. Wichita State will then play either South Carolina or Denver on Sunday to wrap up play.
 
Wichita State Notables
The Shockers open the spring season ranked No. 71 in the ITA men's tennis rankings. Sophomore Miroslav Herzan and freshman Haru Inoue represent Wichita State in the ITA doubles rankings at No. 34. The duo went 11-2 in the fall, which included a doubles championship at the Midland Fall Invitational in September. WSU concluded the fall portion of the schedule with dual wins over Seminole State (4-3), McPherson (6-0) and Cowley (5-0).
 
About No. 9 Ohio State
Ohio State is coming off spring-opening wins over Dayton (4-0), Butler (4-0) and Xavier (4-0) on Jan. 20. The Buckeyes have four players ranked in the top 25 of the ITA singles rankings, led by Mikael Torpegaard at No. 7 nationally. Also in the top 10 is Hugo Di Feo at No. 10. Chris Diaz and Herkko Pollanen round out the rankings at Nos. 19 and 25, respectively. In doubles, Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce lead OSU at No. 22, while Pollanen and Torpegaard come in at No. 24.
 
About No. 51 South Carolina
South Carolina collected a pair of wins on Jan. 16 vs. Presbyterian (7-0) and Winthrop (6-1) to open its dual season. The Gamecocks place two players in the ITA singles rankings to begin the spring. Harrison O'Keefe is ranked No. 65 and Alex Fennell sits at No. 116.

About No. 52 Denver
Like Wichita State, Denver's first spring match will be in Columbus. Diogo Rocha represents the Pioneers in the singles rankings at No. 45. Henry Craig and Alex Gasson sit just outside the top 10 in doubles at No. 11.

Coach Louderback Quotables
"Ohio State has put together a program that is continually in the hunt for a national title. Their team is going to be right there in the hunt again this season. It's going to be a challenge for our guys to open at Ohio State, but they are real excited for this opportunity. I've got a lot of respect for (OSU head coach) Ty (Tucker) and what he's built there."
 
Up Next
Following the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Wichita State travels south to Tulsa, Okla., for a match vs. Purdue on Saturday, Jan. 30 and then Tulsa on Sunday, Jan. 31.