Match 1: Kennesaw State at Florida
Date: Saturday, January 21; 3 p.m.
Location: Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | Gainesville, Fla.
Match Coverage: Live Video | Live Scoring | Twitter

KENNESAW, Ga. -- On the heels of a strong fall season, the Kennesaw State men's tennis teams sets its sights on the spring schedule, which begins Saturday at the University of Florida. The veteran Owls, under fourth-year head coach Eduardo Rincon, boast a 12-man roster that includes six seniors.
 
The team is coming off an impressive showing in the ASUN Conference Tournament last season, reaching the conference semifinals for the first time in program history. Led by returning senior Simon Pritchard, who was a unanimous first-team All-ASUN selection in 2015-16, the men won 10 dual matches last season and knocked off No. 3 Stetson, 4-3, in the ASUN quarterfinals.
 
Along with Pritchard and his career singles record of 30-25 and doubled record of 38-19, also back in 2016-17 are seniors David Durham and Drew Wendel, junior Manuel Castellanos and sophomore Lucas de Torres Curth. Among the new faces on the roster, sophomore Fermin Calvo Barcelo joined the Owls from the University of Miami this off-season and is expected to make an immediate impact.
 
To preview the 2017 spring season, KSUOwls.com sat down with head coach Eduardo Rincon for his thoughts on the Owls:
Eduardo Rincon: "It's been a long time since we've competed as a team, and our men's team is very close and they thrive when they play together. These guys are ready to come out of the gates and compete together. It has been clear for the last four years that that's what they want to do, and that's when they play their best."
 
KS: Your team is loaded with veteran players, how valuable is that for you?
ER: "Without a doubt this season will be special. This is my fourth season with most of those guys and those guys pretty much laid the base for this team. One of their goals coming in, and one of our goals when we started this four years ago, was to leave a legacy and I think they've already done that. And hopefully players coming here in the future will remember that and appreciate that. They've done a lot for this program. Having guys like Simon (Pritchard), Jake (Bouchillon), David (Durham), Drew (Wendel), it's like having a few extra coaches on the court. That's been great. I hope when those guys leave, that leadership they've given us is passed down to our underclassmen."
 
KS: Tell us about a few of the younger guys that may make an impact this spring.
ER: "Our transfer from Miami, Fermin Calvo Barcelo, will play high in the lineup this spring. He's going to be one of the guys carrying the flag once our seniors are gone next year. Junior Manuel Castellanos is a very strong player and leader off the court. There's no question that the future is bright looking forward."
 
KS: Your schedule is challenging, especially early. How will that prepare you for the ASUN Conference?
ER: "Every match is important, no question. When we go out there, our goal is to compete every match. But in reality, we're getting ready for conference play. Our conference is very strong once again. We have seven very strong teams in the ASUN, with good players up and down the lineup and very competitive coaches. We've got to get ready for that early — and we're going to Florida next week. That's something we've been looking forward to — playing an SEC school with a great facility and great weather. After that, we take on a very, very good Georgia Gwinnett program. Those two matches early on will be two of our tougher matches of the year, so we're jumping right into the heat."
 
KS: You moved back on campus last season. Talk about the importance of having a facility on campus.
ER: "It's huge. We'll have 10 matches here at home, including two conference matches and we want to defend our home. We've done a really good job of growing our fan base, even when we were playing off campus before our on-campus courts opened last year. The guys love it — playing in front of their friends and family."
 
KS: The Atlanta area has been good to you in terms of recruiting, how important is it to stay connected to this area?
ER: "One of my goals as a coach — this is a personal goal — is to provide players to play at a high level. There's plenty of really good players out there that may or may not be being recruited by the SEC or the ACC schools around here. So it's my mission to provide an opportunity for those players to play at a high level. I pride myself on the way we practice and the way we do things here at Kennesaw State. We practice at a high level, and I know we do a really good job as a staff of providing what it takes to succeed."

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's tennis news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUMensTennis or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.

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