As the calendars turn to 2020, the USTA National Campus celebrates three years of serving the Lake Nona community as the epicenter of tennis, not only in the Central Florida region but in the nation.
The campus hosts more than 100 events each year and is approaching one million visitors, a number that includes players, spectators, and other guests.
2019 was another year of firsts and milestones at the USTA National Campus, none bigger than hosting the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships.
The 10-day event featured both the men’s and women’s team and individual championships, as nearly 12,000 fans took in the action from the campus’ Collegiate Center. Thousands more watched on television, as Tennis Channel carried more than 60 hours of live action, a monumental feat for the sport of college tennis.
College tennis action will be dominating the courts once against in the first month of 2020, when the spring season starts in earnest. The USTA National Campus serves as an ideal neutral venue for programs around the country to stage early-season matches in favorable weather conditions. On average, more than 300 colleges and universities, including Divisions I, II, III, and NAIA, play at least one match at the campus each year.
2020 will be no different and will kick off early in January with the UCF women’s team hosting the Orlando Invitational on Jan. 10-12. The USTA National Campus has served as the home court for both the UCF women’s and men’s programs since it opened.
The UCF men play their first home match against Mercer on Jan. 17, and the women will play at home the following day against Cornell.
The USTA Collegiate Series, a comprehensive schedule of neutral-site matches featuring top Division I programs, also begins in January with the Iowa women taking on FIU on Jan. 20, followed by the Texas A&M women participating in a doubleheader against Stetson and Georgia Southern on Jan. 31.
The headliner of the spring college tennis slate is College MatchDay, which has attracted more than 15,000 fans over the first three years at the USTA National Campus. The events, featuring some of the nation’s top programs, are free and feature pre-match fan fests. The matches have been broadcast on the Tennis Channel each of the past two years.
College MatchDay returns on Feb. 1, with the annual rivalry matchup between the Florida and Florida State men’s teams returning to Lake Nona for the fourth straight year. The event has featured a capacity crowd three years in a row as the two nationally ranked rivals battled on the court.
There will be two more College MatchDays in 2020: Notre Dame vs. USC women on Feb. 15, and Florida State vs. Ohio State women on March 1. All six programs participating this year are expected to bring strong rosters featuring some of the best college tennis players to Lake Nona.
As always, the events are free and will feature family-friendly games and activities prior to the match.
For more information on all USTA National Campus events in 2020, please visit www.ustanationalcampus.com.
