ITA DII National Men's Team Indoor Championship Home Page
PENSACOLA, Fla. - After its season-opening matches against Shorter and New Orleans were postponed due to weather conditions, No. 5 UWF is set to travel to Indianapolis to open its season by taking part in the ITA Division II National Men's Team Indoor Championship.
The Argos enter the field seeded sixth as one of four participating teams from the South Region. The top seven teams in the country received an invite alongside host Indianapolis. UWF last played in the prestigious tournament in 2022, going 1-2 with a win over Hawaii Hilo and losses to regional foes Barry and Saint Leo.
UWF opens play with a match against No. 3 Saint Leo tomorrow at 11 am ET/10 am CT. The Lions lead the all-time series between the sides 6-5, taking the lead for the first time in sweeping last season's matchup in Valdosta, Ga., and winning the two prior matchups as well, including one in the 2022 ITA tournament. The Argos last defeated Saint Leo in 2020 in an exciting 4-3 win at home in their next-to-last contest before the pandemic shut down play.
The Lions of the Sunshine State Conference are 4-0 on the young season with sweeps of Francis Marion, Tusculum and NAIA member Warner and a 5-2 conference win over Florida Southern. The Lions finished 2023 in the same spot they currently hold in the ITA Division II Men's Top 25 with a 23-3 overall record and a 7-0 mark in SSC regular season play. Their first loss came in the regular season to national runner-up Valdosta State before a pair of setbacks in the SSC Championship and NCAA South Regional to national champion Barry. Saint Leo is led by graduate assistant coach Johann Frühling after the January departure of Chad Berryhill, the Lions' coach for the last eight seasons.
The other first-round matches taking place tomorrow are No. 2 Valdosta State vs. No. 7 Flagler, No. 4 Columbus State vs. No. 5 Indianapolis and No. 1 Barry vs. No. 8 Wayne State (Mich.). The Argos would face the winner of the VSU/Flagler match in the semifinals on Saturday, the 17th, at 11 am ET/10 am CT with a win, but with a loss, would play the loser in consolations that day at 8 am ET/7 am CT.
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