KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men’s tennis team is set to open the 2012 fall season at the 45th Southern Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.  The tournament is scheduled to run from Friday, Sept. 7 to Monday, Sept. 10.

“I am really happy with the energy our team has right now,” said Head Coach #T.J. Greggs#. “We’re a really young team, but the sophomores have stepped up as leaders and are putting us in the right direction. Our three new players are all very talented and I think that they are going to make a huge impact this season for us.  It is just a completely different feel our team this year.”

Along with the Owls, the tournament features participants from 23 schools, including Armstrong Atlantic, The Citadel, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Furman, Georgia, Georgia College, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Liberty, Lipscomb, Mercer, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Florida, Presbyterian, UT Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, and Vanderbilt.

Sophomores Matthew Johnson (Roswell, Ga./Roswell HS), Alexander Pena (Johns Creek, Ga./Lambert HS), Louis Theodor (Jakarta, Indonesia/Jubilee School) and Alex Toliver (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) are set to compete at the event, with freshmen Tobi Menhofer (Pfronten, Germany/Gymnasium Hohenschwangau) and Jorge Wilton (Ashtead, England/Reeds School) making their Kennesaw State debut at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.

“We are going to be a much more competitive team this year,” added Greggs.  “It is already showing in the weight room and in the training sessions. Everybody knows that this is the opportunity for us to make a really big impact this year on the conference.”

The field will be divided into at least two singles divisions and two doubles divisions, with a champion from each division.  There will be at least two rounds of singles consolation for first round losers, but no doubles consolation.

The Southern Intercollegiate Championships is the oldest fall college tennis tournament in the nation and was originated in 1968 by former Georgia men’s tennis Head Coach Dan Magill.

Check ksuowls.com throughout the tournament for results and a recap after each day’s action is completed.