FOREST, Va. --- A season without Washington and Lee University standing atop the ODAC men's tennis podium had happened just five times since the conference's founding in 1976-77. While last season marked the six such occasion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Generals are poised for a second run at their 38th overall league title as they enter as the top seed in the upcoming ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament.
The conference tournament embarks on a new format this season, both out of necessity from pandemic campus and travel protocols, but also to accommodate the sport's unbalanced schedule. The field is nine teams large for the first time in ODAC history, and will be played on four separate days beginning with first round action on Wednesday, April 28. The quarterfinals will be Saturday, May 1, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, May 5. The championship will be competed on Saturday, May 8. All matches will be played on member school campuses.
RELATED: Tournament Website | Live Bracket
Emory & Henry College will host the first round match on Wednesday with the eighth-seeded Wasps welcoming #9 Bridgewater College to Emory. The winner of that match heads to W&L for a quarterfinal showdown with the field's top seed in the quarterfinals next Saturday.
W&L is joined by second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan University, #3 Guilford College, and #4 University of Lynchburg as quarterfinal hosts. All four of them, as well as the remainder of the field, earned their tournament berths without the use of conference tiebreakers.
Lynchburg welcomes #5 Roanoke College to campus in the quarterfinals, while the Quakers tournament opener will be against visiting Randolph-Macon College as the sixth seed. Shenandoah University heads to Virginia Wesleyan for the remaining quarterfinal outing.
The semifinals will be hosted by the two highests remaining seedds in their bracket path, while the championship will take place on the campus of the highest seeded semifinal winner.
Listed below is the entire schedule for the 2021 ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament. For more information including match times, visit any of the participating schools' websites or go to the ODAC tournament website. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
2021 ODAC Men's Tennis Tournament
First Round| Wednesday, April 28 *
Match 1: #9 Bridgewater at #8 Emory & Henry -- TBA
Quarterfinals | Saturday, May 1 *
Match 2: Winner Match 1 at #1 Washington and Lee -- TBA
Match 3: #5 Roanoke at #4 Lynchburg -- TBA
Match 4: #7 Shenandoah at #2 Virginia Wesleyan -- TBA
Match 5: #6 Randolph-Macon at #3 Guilford -- TBA
Semifinals | Wednesday, May 5 *
Match 6: Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 3 -- TBA
Match 7: Winner Match 4 vs. Winner Match 5 -- TBA
Championship | Saturday, May 8 *
Match 8: Winner Match 6 vs. Winner Match 7 -- TBA
* In the event of a conflict with hosting responsibilities at a campus, a secondary date for the match could/will be used. Those updates will be communicated if applicable.