INDIANAPOLIS – The journey to return to the Summit League Championship match begins Friday for the IUPUI men’s tennis team as it kicks off a busy opening weekend traveling to SIU-Edwardsville on Friday, Jan. 20, before hosting a pair of nationally-ranked squads in Kentucky and Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 22, at the University of Indianapolis.

“Our matches this weekend are very important to the start of our 2012 spring season. We start with our first match at SIU-Edwardsville this Friday and they are always competitive and bring a lot of emotion to the match,” said head coach Brandon Currie.

”We will then host the University of Kentucky and Michigan State on Sunday. These are the biggest matches our program has ever hosted. Kentucky is ranked in the Top-10 nationally with six or more players earning individual rankings,” Currie added. “Michigan State is ranked in the Top 50 again and returns most of their lineup from last year. We are definitely looking forward to both matches and have worked extremely hard to give ourselves an opportunity to compete against these teams. It will definitely be a challenge, but we look forward to a great day of tennis and a chance to show people what our program is about.”

Currie brings back a talented mix of veterans and newcomers highlighted by 2011 All-Summit League selection Ivan Mojsejev. Of the seven returners, Mojsejev, Taylor Tunis, and Bren Vasalakis are seniors, and they are joined by juniors Joel Modesitt and Nick Volz, and sophomores Chase Emerson and Deon Shafer.

Four of the five newcomers are true freshmen with the exception being Armaan Choudhary, who is a junior after transferring into the program from Chicago State. The four freshmen are Jacob Bradley, Thomas Gans, #Patrick O’Neill#, and Louis Sacks.

The Jags placed third in the Summit League regular-season standings a season ago, before rallying to the conference tournament championship match against UMKC where it ultimately fell short, 4-2.

Friday’s match at SIU-Edwardsville is set for 7 p.m., while its matches against Kentucky and Michigan State will begin at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, on Sunday.