WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise men's tennis team begins the fall non-conference portion of their 2015-16 schedule Monday as the Cavaliers welcome Tusculum College in Wise for a 2 p.m. match.
 
The Cavs enter the 2015-16 season after finishing 4-10 overall last year and 1-6 in the Mountain East Conference. UVa-Wise finished seventh in the MEC last season after recording a win on the road over West Virginia State, in addition to non-conference victories over Southern Virginia, Alice Lloyd College and Berea College.
 
UVa-Wise returns five letter winners from a year ago including MEC Freshman of the Year Andrii Rutnytskyi and senior Oleg Kopychenko. The Cavs also bring back sophomores Noah Aldridge, Charles Pollard and Viktor Tunnikov, while 2013-14 letter winners Vladyslav Akimenko and Christopher Armistead return for the Red and Gray.
 
The Cavs also welcome two freshman this season in Blake Pientka and Ethan Herron.
 
UVa-Wise will play a total of seven non-conference matches this fall before the spring season. The Cavs begin with four consecutive home matches before hitting the road on Saturday, Oct. 3, to take on Lees-McRae College at 12 p.m. in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The men's tennis team will conclude their fall schedule by visiting Salem International University on Sunday, Oct. 11.
 
Following the match against Tusculum College, the Cavs will have a nine-day break before facing Milligan College in Wise Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m.
 
UVa-Wise will be NCAA postseason eligible for the first time in school history after becoming full NCAA Division II members on Sept. 1.
 
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