The Francis Marion University men's and women's tennis teams will open their 2021 seasons on Saturday (Feb. 6) with the fourth-annual City of Florence College Tennis Invitational to be held at the Dr. Eddie Floyd/Florence Tennis Center.  PLEASE NOTE that because of forecasted rain on Friday, the tournament has been pushed back a day to a Saturday/Sunday format.

Seven teams will be competing in the tournament including Lander University, University of Mount Olive, Coker University, Barton College, Augusta University, Bluefield State College, and Francis Marion.

The two-day event is open to the public and admission is free.  Spectators are asked to wear masks and socially distance.

The men's tournament will get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday with FMU facing Bluefield State and Coker vs Mount Olive. The semifinals and back-draw will begin later in the day at 2 p.m. The finals, third/fourth, and fifth/sixth place matches will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m.

The women's bracket will start at noon on Saturday with Francis Marion playing Bluefield State, Coker vs Lander, and Augusta vs Mount Olive. The semifinals and back-draw will begin on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.  The finals, third/fourth, and fifth/sixth place matches are scheduled for Sunday at noon.

FMU head coach Garth Thomson welcomes back three returning letterwinners from the 2020 women's squad and two men's players from last season's Patriot team.  During the abbreviated (covid-19) 2020 season, The Patriot women posted a 7-4 mark and the men a 5-5 record.

"Our men's squad consists of two seniors and five freshmen, so the pre-season has been a quick adjustment," Thomson said.  "The newcomers have certainly brought a new energy, but will be inexperienced.  I am looking for our seniors (Mauricio Guerrero and William Anth-Forsberg) to help bring the freshmen along."

"I feel as though we have a fairly solid singles line-up and a stable, at this point, doubles line-up.  Bluefield State is among the other teams receiving votes in the pre-season Oracle/ITA Top 25 so this will be a good test and measuring stick to open the season.  We want to win this weekend of course, but what I hope for most is to get to play three matches so the newcomers can gain experience and the returners can get back into the swing.

"With both squads, we will have to temper our excitement to finally get back on the court."

Anth-Forsberg has appeared in 44 matches over the past three years, while Guerrero (52 matches in 4 years) returns for an additional fifth season after the 2020 campaign was cut short by the covid-19 pandemic.

Thomson pointed to freshmen Adam Ernberg (Solvesborg, Sweden) and Leonel Gonzalez (Morelia, Mexico) as two of the newcomers who could contribute immediately.

The returnees for the women's team include junior Eva Zannier, sophomore Hermon Mikael, and last year's team MVP sophomore Gabriel Karatantcheva.  Karatantcheva was 9-0 in singles play and 7-2 in doubles during last year's abbreviated season, while Hermon was 9-1 (singles) and 7-2 (doubles).  Zannier has registered 14 singles victories in her two seasons as a Patriot.

"I feel as though the women's squad will be strong this year," Thomson said.  "We have three solid experienced returnees and three freshmen who can make a difference.  This will make for a mix of experience and youth.

"The keys to our success will be how quickly the newcomers adjust to college tennis and can we stay healthy.  Our early goals are to find chemistry in the doubles squads and to find where each player is comfortable in the singles ladder.  This weekend should help us in both respects.  Gabriel will miss play this weekend with an injury, so all four newcomers will have a chance to play."

In particular, Thomson pointed to Nargiza Yakhyaeva and Viktoria Leth as two newcomers who could end up competing among his top four singles players.

Thomson owns a 376-222 record as the Patriot women's coach and a 359-214 men's mark.  With the start of the invitational and thus his 29th year at Francis Marion, he becomes the longest tenured head coach in FMU athletic program history, surpassing former FMU baseball coach Gerald Griffin who spent 28 seasons in the Francis Marion dugout.