The ACU men’s tennis team will begin its 2010-2011 spring season Feb. 4-5 and are looking at building upon a strong fall season.

This fall, the men’s singles finished fifth in the nation, and the men’s doubles team finished third nationally in the fall. Freshman Hans Hoch won the regional singles championship and finished fifth at the national meet. Senior Bryan Joiner and Hoch finished third in the nation in doubles.

“We had a great fall season,” said Head Coach Hutton Jones. “The individual season provides us with a good foundation going into the spring, and we’re hoping to build upon it for the spring.”

The Wildcats will face a treacherous schedule in the coming months. They have seven Div. I opponents on their plate, including New Mexico State, Air Force, Southern Methodist, Northern Arizona, Xavier and Rice, which is ranked No. 30 nationally by the collegetennisonline.com poll, on top of a healthy dose of Div. II opponents.

Joiner acknowledged the tough schedule and is looking forward to learning from stiff competition.

“We have a very tough schedule, but I know that playing stiff competition will help us as a team prepare for nationals,” Joiner said. “Facing top-tier teams regularly is fun for me and something I look forward to, and as a team, it builds confidence and is something we strive off of.”

Juniors Nick Plum and Jake Hendrie have joined the team as transfers this year, Plum from Weber State and Hendrie from Saint Louis University. They will continue play vital roles on the court. Eldad Campbell and John Strahl also will provide a source of experience for the team. Strahl, a junior, has started since his freshman year.

The Wildcats open up the spring season ranked No. 13 by ncaa.com and No. 1 in the region, but Jones isn’t putting much emphasis on their ranking.

“To me, right now we’re ranked number nothing,” he said. “I want our team to feel like they’re on a mission to prove something. You have to prove that you’re good, and not let some numbers tell you that.”

The Wildcats will host Southeastern Oklahoma, East Central and Trinity Feb. 4-5 at the ACU Indoor Invitational. ACU will play Trinity at noon on Friday and will have free hot dogs and Dr Pepper for students in attendance.