MIAMI (Jan. 8, 2019) – FIU women's tennis announced its 2019 schedule on Tuesday, with the Panthers set to defend their Conference USA title.
 
The Panthers will participate in 18 matches, 11 of which will take place at the FIU Tennis Complex. The schedule features competition against three teams who are ranked in the Top 20 and six teams that have bolstered spots in the Top 50. For a full look at the 2019 schedule, click here.
 
"It is always good to play at home, this schedule will definitely help us get ready for the conference tournament at the end of April," head coach Katarina Petrovic said.
 
The Panthers ended the 2018 campaign atop the C-USA after downing Rice, 4-3, in the league championship. FIU earned a NCAA berth thanks to the conference title, but the Panthers were upended by No. 22 UCF, 4-3, in the opening round. The Panthers bring a new crop of talent for 2019, with FIU earning the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the country.
 
"We are a very young team with six new student-athletes and I expect them to compete the same way we practice," said Petrovic. "It is a work in progress and the team's expectations are very high."
 
The Panthers open dual match action at home against Wisconsin and Iowa State (Jan. 11-12, at 10 a.m. ET), then head to Los Angeles for the ITA Kick Off (Jan. 26-27, at 12 p.m. ET) with their first meet taking place against Loyola Marymount, day two will depend on the winner of the UCLA-Minnesota match up.
 
FIU will face a pair of East Coast teams. following a swing through New York as the Panthers face Columbia (Feb. 2, at 12 p.m. ET) and Seton Hall (Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. ET). The Panthers head back home to host Texas Tech the following weekend before C-USA play begins (Feb. 10, at 11 a.m. ET).
 
League action opens up against Florida Atlantic (Feb. 22, at 10 a.m. ET), before kicking off a nine-match homestand against North Florida (Feb. 23, at 12 p.m. ET) the following afternoon.
 
FIU continues the homestand against Marshall to begin the month of March (March 1, at 12 p.m. ET), then Yale (March 2, at 11 a.m.), followed by two C-USA opponents in North Texas (March 3, at 12 p.m. ET) and Charlotte (March 7, at 1 p.m. ET).
 
The Panthers stay at their friendly confines on March 9 as FIU hosts James Madison (March 9, at 12 p.m. ET), Idaho (March 11, at 1 p.m. ET), then Boston University (March 13, at 1 p.m. ET). The Panthers cap their home slate against non-conference foe UCF (March 31, at 1 p.m. ET) to close out the month of March.
 
To wrap up regular-season play, FIU travels to Houston for dual meets against USF (April 6, at 11 a.m. ET) and C-USA foe Rice (April 7, at 11 a.m. ET) to officially bookend the season.
 
The C-USA Championships will be set for April 18-22 in Houston, Texas, with the Panthers looking to defend their conference crown. FIU will seek another trip to NCAA postseason play, with the opening rounds beginning on May 3-5 and Super Regional action slated for May 10-11 at various campus sites. The final rounds of the NCAA Championships will take place on May 16-31 in Orlando.
 
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