PEORIA, Ill. - The start of the spring season for the Bradley women's tennis team is right around the corner, with the Braves slated to open the season Feb. 4 according to the schedule announced by head coach Scott Petersen Friday.
Bradley opens the season with five consecutive road matches in a 10-day span, beginning with a Feb. 4 match at Saint Louis. The opening road swing also includes matches at Southeast Missouri State (Feb. 5), SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 6), Northern Illinois (Feb. 12) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Feb. 13).
The Braves play the first of nine home matches Feb. 18 when BU welcomes Valparaiso for a 1 pm. match. Bradley will also host IUPUI on Feb. 19, before playing a pair of matches in Fort Wayne, Ind., against IPFW (Feb. 25) and Oakland (Feb. 26).
A pair of home matches - Eastern Illinois (March 4) and UMKC (March 6) fall before the squads spring break trip to Florida March 14-15.
Bradley returns home for three consecutive home matches beginning March 19 against Western Michigan. The Missouri Valley Conference opener is slated for March 25 against I-74 rival Illinois State and a March 26 matchup with Western Illinois is the final non-conference home match on the schedule.
The Braves head to Omaha, Neb., for matches against North Dakota (April 2) and Valley rival Creighton (April 3). The final homestand of the season includes contests against Northern Iowa (April 9) and Drake (April 10), before wrapping up the regular-season with three consecutive road matches beginning with an April 16 match at Wichita State. The final road swing also includes matches at Evansville (April 22) and at Southern Illinois (April 23).
Weather permitting, home matches will be played on campus at the David Markin Tennis Courts on Bradley Avenue. In the event of inclement weather, Bradley home matches will be moved to the Clubs at River City.
The 2011 State Farm MVC Championship will be contested April 29-May 1 in St. Louis.
