2015 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship Coming to Chicago

The University of Illinois will serve as the host institution at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Illinois from February 13-16. Sixteen of the Top 25 teams in the country are set to vie for the title of the 41st annual ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship.

The event will feature the new, shortened ITA format, which includes:

• No-ad scoring in singles and doubles.

• Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all.

• Followed by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tie-breaks at 6-all.

• No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)

Main Draw | Event Page | Schedule of Play

Last year's ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship final pitted No. 5 seed Ohio State against No. 3 seed USC, a rematch of the 2012 final which USC won 4-3. The 2014 rematch wouldn't be as close. The Buckeyes took an early 2-0 edge with a win at the doubles point and sixth singles. The Trojans cut the lead in half with a win at second singles, but Ohio State was able to close out straight-set wins at second and fourth singles to clinch the match 4-1. The win gave Ohio State its first championship at the event in four finals appearances. Ohio State is seeded No. 8 this year while No. 1 ranked USC, which won the NCAA Team Championship for the fifth time in six years last May, is the top seed.

The Trojans leads a deep field that includes the top 11 teams in the ITA Division I Men's National Team Rankings. Eight participating schools are past champions of the event, including No. 3 seed Virginia, which won five of six titles from 2008-2013. Unseeded TCU is making its first appearance in the tournament since a semifinals run in 2001. The Horned Frogs were ITA National Team Indoors finalists in 1992, the year before current head coach David Roditi arrived on campus as a freshman.

Ohio State takes on No. 9 Texas in the first round, a team they knocked out in the quarterfinals last year en route to the title. Another familiar pairing sees No. 4 seed Georgia matching up against 13th-seeded Columbia. In the first round of the 2014 ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the then-No. 43 Lions pushed the Bulldogs to the brink of defeat, showing glimpses of what was to be a 22-2 season and a meteoric rise to No. 16 in the ITA Division I National Men's Team Rankings.

The 2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend, held January 23-25, pitted fifteen groups of four teams against each other with a ticket to the ITA National Team Indoors as the prize. For the second straight year, four top seeds were upset, tying for the most upsets on the men's side in ITA Kick-Off Weekend history. TCU, Penn State and Mississippi each were the No. 4 seeds at their ITA Kick-Off Weekend sites yet all three prevailed in their quests for an ITA National Team Indoors bid. Columbia, the fourth team to earn an upset bid during ITA Kick-Off Weekend, was the second-highest ranked team in its group, and the Lions defeated host-school Notre Dame 4-2 to qualify.

Several participating teams have faced each other in dual matches early this spring. Host-school and No. 5 ranked Illinois trekked down to Tobacco Road in late January for matches with No. 6 Duke (Duke won 4-3) and No. 7 North Carolina (Illinois won 4-3). No. 4 Georgia also split their matches during a two-day Los Angeles swing. The Bulldogs defeated No. 10 UCLA 4-3 on and lost to No. 1 USC 4-0 the next day.

2015 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship Field

For complete coverage of the 2015 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship, including access to draws, live scores and more, please visit the official ITA event page. Follow the ITA on Twitter, @ITAtennis, or like the ITA Facebook page for updates and news from Chicago. Use the hashtag #ITAIndoors for all tweets about the event, and search the term "ITAIndoors" to find others who are tweeting about the event. 

About the ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championships: The ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship is held annually each February. The men's event began in 1973 and will be held for the 41st time in 2015. The event features 16 participating teams: the 15 schools who won both of their matches during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and the host school. The tournament is held over four days, and begins on Friday with first round play, followed by quarterfinals on Saturday, semifinals on Sunday and the final on Monday.

About Midtown Athletic Clubs: Midtown Athletic Clubs is a leader in the upscale fitness club and sports resort industry. What began as a single tennis club in Chicago in 1970, Midtown is now comprised of 10 full-service tennis and fitness facilities throughout the United States and Canada.  Locations in Illinois include Chicago, Bannockburn, Oak Park, Palatine and Willowbrook. Other clubs are operated in Atlanta; Overland Park, KS; Rochester, NY; Weston, FL; and Montreal, QC. Midtown features a variety of dynamic tennis programs, the latest cardio and strength training equipment, group exercise classes, personal training and spa services. The clubs offer a warm, inviting environment and provide a special place to connect with family, make new friends and get fit.  For more information on Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, call (773) 235-2300 or visit www.midtown.com/chicago.