College tennis continues to be a prominent theme at the USTA National Campus in April as the college tennis regular season comes to a close. Notably, the UCF men host rival USF on April 16 to close out their 2022 home slate.
The campus will also host two major collegiate tennis events in April that showcase college tennis beyond varsity NCAA competition.
The first is the USTA Tennis On Campus National Championships, scheduled for April 7-9. Tennis On Campus is the USTA’s program for college club tennis players and features teams from more than 300 colleges and universities around the country.
The Tennis On Campus National Championships are held annually and feature the top 64 club programs in the nation. The event was last held in 2019 and returns after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The 2019 event was held in Surprise, Arizona, after being held in Orlando in 2017 and 2018.
Most of the 64-team field qualifies by competing in their respective USTA Section Championships, but a handful of slots are reserved for winners of regional tournaments held throughout the year, such as the Fall Invitational. The reigning national champion (UCLA) also automatically receives a bid.
In 2019, the USTA Florida Section was represented by the University of Florida and the University of Miami, both of which reached the knockout round. Florida and Miami once again qualified for the National Championships in 2022 and will be joined by hometown favorite UCF.
The week following the Tennis On Campus National Championships, the campus will host the USTA Collegiate Wheelchair Tennis Championships, featuring the top collegiate wheelchair tennis teams and players in the country. The event will be held April 13-16 and will look to capitalize on the success of the 2021 event, which also marked the event’s 20th anniversary.
Last year’s event featured the largest-ever field with 27 athletes representing eight universities. It continued a strong pattern of growth for wheelchair tennis at the collegiate level, and the 2022 event is expected to be no different.
The University of Alabama claimed its fifth consecutive national title in 2021 and will arrive in Lake Nona in April looking to continue its dominant run. Tournament newcomer Michigan made waves in ’21 with an impressive showing and will look to dethrone the Crimson Tide this year.
NCAA varsity tennis action will return to Lake Nona as the final event of the month of April will be the 2022 Atlantic-10 Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. The event returns to Orlando after VCU swept the men’s and women’s titles here in 2021. The VCU men will be looking for their fifth consecutive conference championship this year while the women will be vying for their fourth straight.
For more information on all upcoming events at the USTA National Campus, please visit www.ustanationalcampus.com.
