FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Looking forward to an exciting campaign in returning most of the roster from a phenomenal year for Sharks women's tennis, fourth-year Nova Southeastern head coach Doug Neagle has released the full 2019-20 women's tennis schedule, opening up the Fall again with the ITA South Regional Championship in Pensacola, Fla., Sept. 27-30. The NSU schedule features 23 regular season matches, including 10 against teams ranked in the final 2019 poll and 11 matches at home.

Nova Southeastern is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, tying the school's wins record at 22-5 on the year, including a 7-3 mark in the formidable Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and a second-ever runner-up finish at the SSC Championships. The Sharks also hosted an NCAA South Regional tournament, earning an NCAA opening-round win over Clark Atlanta. Neagle was named the SSC Coach of the Year, Natalie Espinal earned SSC Freshman of the Year and NSU earned five spots on the SSC All-Conference teams.

The Sharks open up their Fall on the courts at West Florida for the ITA South Regional, a challenging test against the top Regional teams in Division II – last year the Sharks sent a singles player and a doubles tandem to the semifinal, and collected a singles runner-up finish. NSU opens up the following month with some cross-divisional competition at the Stetson Invitational in DeLand, Fla., Nov. 1-3. NSU closes out the Fall with a return trip to the Buccaneer Invite at three-time defending National Champion Barry in Miami Shores, Fla., Nov. 8-10.

"Our schedule is solid this year," Neagle said. "Last year we were the road warriors and traveled a lot. This year we have many key home matches, which will be nice. This Fall we are playing a new tournament up at Stetson, and that will be great to play against different schools and players, including some DI competition. This year marks the inaugural ITA Indoor National Championships, where the top eight teams in the country were invited, and we earned that opportunity to play. It's special being able to play in the first ever indoor championships in DII history."
 
When the Sharks return to campus for the Winter semester, January will bring scrimmages against DI Georgia Southern and junior college ASA Miami. However, the schedule formally kicks off on the home courts at the NSU Tennis Complex against Flagler on February 1 - the Saints finished 17-7, collecting a No. 16 ranking and a win in the NCAA Southeast Regional. The Sharks earned a 6-1 win over FC last year in St. Augustine, Fla.

A two-day stretch in Valdosta, Ga. follows with a neutral-site match-up against Georgia College and a road contest at Valdosta State, Feb. 8-9. The Sharks earned the 7-0 sweep over GC last season at the same site – the Bobcats ended the year at No. 34 with a 13-8 record, wrapping up in the Peach Belt semifinal. VSU also saw an NSU sweep, the Blazers ending their season at 7-14.

The Sharks kick off the Sunshine State Conference slate on February 15th with Tampa (12-8 in 2019) coming to Fort Lauderdale. NSU was a dominant force last year in SSC play, dropping just three matches in league play against the nation's toughest Division II conference. After the Spartans, a midweek SSC match at home follows on a visit from the Palm Beach Atlantic (11-11 in 2019) Sailfish.

Neagle's Sharks close out the month with a six-match road swing, beginning Friday, Feb. 21 on SSC play at Eckerd (6-14 in 2019) in St. Petersburg, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 22 brings a trip to Lakeland, Fla. for a matchup with Florida Southern, who wrapped 2019 at No. 24 with a 15-8 record, ending up in the South Regional at Barry. A Feb. 23 face-off with Davenport (6-13 in 2019) allows the Sharks an opportunity to play again at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) facility in Orlando.

In the last stop for the Sharks before settling in much of the month at home, NSU travels to Edmond, Okla. for the inaugural ITA Women's National Team Indoor Championships, hosted by Central Oklahoma at Oaktree Country Club, Feb. 28-March 1. This new championship is a unique invitational for DII tennis, providing a field of eight elite teams – the host institution team and seven teams selected according to the final Oracle ITA National Team rankings from the previous season. The Sharks will play three matches during their run in the Midwest.

Nova Southeastern will get March rolling with six of the next seven matches at home. No. 31 Wayne State (21-6 in 2019) comes to the NSU Tennis Complex on March 7 – the Warriors fell to NSU last year 6-1 in a neutral-site match at USTA but ended the year in the NCAA Midwest Regional. NSU will take up a doubleheader on March 11 with Daemen (6-18 in 2019) out of the East Coast Conference and No. 42 Hillsdale, who went 16-3 last year and ended up in the Midwest Regional from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

A trip to Winter Park to face Rollins (10-12 in 2019) provides a break from the homestand and non-conference play on March 15, but the Sharks are right back at home on March 17 to commence the toughest stretch of the regular season, opening with No. 41 Sonoma State. Although the Sharks triumphed last year, 6-1 over SSU, the Seawolves went on to reach the Pacific West Championship final and end with a 13-8 record. A key matchup with SSC foe No. 5 Saint Leo (20-7 in 2019, NCAA South Regional) follows on March 21 after NSU dropped a consequential and razor-close 3-4 match on the road last year. No. 13 Academy of Art (14-6 in 2019, NCAA West Regional) comes in on March 22 and the month closes with the top two teams in the SSC and the nation from a year ago – a road match at No. 2 Lynn (27-1 in 2019, NCAA Runner-up) on March 26 and a home showdown with defending National Champion No. 1 Barry (27-2 in 2019) on March 31. In the last meeting with BU, the Sharks delivered one of only two Buccaneers' losses to eliminate them from the SSC Championships.

A final pair of road contests bring the Sharks down the stretch, April 4 at Embry-Riddle (7-13 in 2019) and April 8 at St. Thomas (Fla.) (2-11 in 2019), setting up Senior Day on April 11 against Florida National (3-8 in 2019 during inaugural 2019 season) for three NSU players taking in their final match at home.

The Sunshine State Conference Championships will return to the IMG Academy facility in Bradenton, Fla. for the fourth consecutive season, hosted in 2020 by Florida Southern, April 17-19. The opening round of NCAA Regional competition is scheduled for May 2-3 at campus sites and the National Championships are May 13-16 at the Lindenwood Tennis Center in St. Charles, Mo.
 
For the full Nova Southeastern women's tennis schedule, CLICK HERE. To stay up-to-date with the Sharks, follow them on Twitter (@NSU_WTennis), Instagram (@NSU_WTennis) or on Facebook at /NSUSharksWTennis.