Courts Set for 2017 BIG EAST Tennis Championship
NEW YORK - The seeds and schedule have been set for the 2017 BIG EAST Men's and Women's Tennis Championships Presented by Jeep, which will be played Thursday, April 27 through Sunday, April 30 at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C.
Seeds are determined by the conference’s tennis championship and coaches’ s seeding advisory committees that review each team's regular-season schedule, ITA rankings, results against BIG EAST and common non-conference opponents and wins/losses against ranked foes.
This year, DePaul earned the No. 1 seed on the men’s side, while St. John's was named the top women’s seed.
For the women, No. 8 Creighton and No. 9 Butler open the Championship with the first round of play at 9 a.m. on Thursday, coinciding with No. 7 Villanova vs. No. 10 Providence.
On Friday, the women's teams continue with the quarterfinals, starting with No. 1 St. John’s facing the winner of Creighton/Butler and No. 2 DePaul matching up against the winner of Villanova/Providence. No. 3 Georgetown will face No. 6 Seton Hall and fourth-seeded Xavier will play against Midwest foe No. 5 Marquette.
Semifinal action continues on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Championship match will be played on Sunday also at 12:30 p.m.
For the men, play in the eight-team tournament begins with quarterfinal action on Friday at 12:30 p.m. The top seeded Blue Demons will face No. 8 Creighton, No. 2 St. John’s will play No. 7 Georgetown, No. 3 Butler will challenge No. 6 Villanova and the fourth-seeded Musketeers will take on No.5 Marquette.
The men's semifinals are set for 9 a.m. on Saturday. The semifinal winners will clash on Sunday at 9 a.m. for a chance at the 2017 league title.
A full tournament schedule is listed below. Consolation matches may be scheduled or cancelled if necessary to adjust to the schedule of the courts. A preview will be released on Wednesday, April 26.
Thursday, April 27
- 9 a.m. Women’s Match #1 - #8 Creighton vs. #9 Butler (First Round)
- 9 a.m. Women’s Match #2 - #7 Villanova vs. #10 Providence (First Round)
Friday, April 28
- 9 a.m. Men’s Match #1 - #1 DePaul vs. #8 Creighton (Quarterfinals)
- 9 a.m. Men’s Match #2 - #2 St. John’s vs. #7 Georgetown (Quarterfinals)
- 9 a.m. Men’s Match #3 - #3 Butler vs. #6 Villanova (Quarterfinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Men’s Match #4 - #4 Xavier vs. #5 Marquette (Quarterfinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Women’s Match #3 - #1 St. John’s vs. Creighton/Butler(Quarterfinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Women’s Match #4 - #2 DePaul vs. Villanova/Providence (Quartersfinals)
- 4 p.m. Women’s Match #5 - #3 Georgetown vs. #6 Seton Hall (Quarterfinals)
- 4 p.m. Women’s Match #6 - #4 Xavier vs. #5 Marquette (Quarterfinals)
- 4 p.m. Women’s Match #7 – Match 1 Loser vs. Match 2 Loser*
Saturday, April 29
- 9 a.m. Men’s Match #5 – #1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner (Semifinals)
- 9 a.m. Men’s Match #6 – #2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner (Semifinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Women’s Match #8 - #1/8/9 winner vs. #4/5 winner (Semifinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Women’s Match #9 - #2/7/10 winner vs. #3/6 winner (Semifinals)
- 12:30 p.m. Men’s Match #7 – Match 2 Loser vs. Match 3 Loser*
- 4 p.m. Men’s Match #8 – Match 1 Loser vs. Match 4 Loser*
- 4 p.m. Women’s Match #10 – Match 3 Loser vs. Match 6 Loser*
- 4 p.m. Women’s Match #11 – Match 4 Loser vs. Match 5 Loser*
Sunday, April 30
- 9 a.m. Men’s Championship Match
- 12:30 p.m. Women’s Championship Match
*Consolation matches
(in italics) will be cancelled if necessary to adjust the schedule of courts for the championship bracket. Match times may be adjusted based on weather/heat considerations.