KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After cancelling fall match play, the Royals men's tennis team will make their long awaited return to the tennis courts this weekend for their home opener. 

The Royals will be eager to take the court after having their spring season suspended last season and having not taken the courts for a match since March 14th.  The Royals have a lot of familiar faces from last season with a few key additions which should lead to an exciting season. 

The Royals team will be anchored by some key returning upperclassmen.  Returning to the top of the lineup will be senior Riley Reinhardt and junior Stephen Damon.  Both played in the top-three throughout last year's shortened season and are primed to make impacts on the singles and doubles courts.  These two will be joined by senior Caleb Weaver and Graduate student Joe Tempest.  Weaver has contributed to the Royals the past three seasons while Tempest is only in his second season on the Royals team. 

The rest of the Royals will be full of youth and excitement.  Sophomores Cade Crowe and Daniel Orahood made an impact last season early before their freshman campaign was cut short.  Orahood led the team in singles wins during the short season while Crowe scored one of the most dramatic wins with a 5-4 clinching match against Randolph College. They will be joined by Sophomore Ian Thomas, transfer Gerett Benjamin, and freshman Kaden Buchanan. 

Coach Hale's Take: "Last year we knew we were going to rely on some of our younger guys, but with the shortened season, it is almost like I have two classes of freshmen.  I think we have a good amount of talent and we are a much deeper team than I have had in the past but there will be some young-team learning curves.  That being said, we have some veteran players who have gotten quite a bit of court time and really set our culture and attitude. All things considered, I think that this will be an exciting season!"