GEORGE MASON INVITATIONAL
Saturday, Sept. 21- Sunday, Sept. 22
Fairfax, Va.

MOUNT UPDATE: The Mount will look to build on a strong showing at the Mount St. Mary's Invitational with the George Mason Invitational this weekend. The two-day tournament is the final invitational on the schedule for the Mount this fall.

INVITATIONAL FORMAT: Saturday's action gets underway with one round of doubles and two rounds of singles beginning at 9:30 a.m. The following day, the final two rounds of doubles and one round of singles will be played to conclude the invitational.

COMPETING TEAMS: Mount St. Mary's, UMBC, Mary Washington and George Mason

LAST TIME OUT: The Mount saw its first action of the fall last weekend with the Mount St. Mary's Invitational, a three-day event held at the Mount Tennis Courts and Catoctin High School.  In their first tournament in Mount St. Mary's uniforms, sophomore Peter Salomon and freshman Louis Tonon won the Flight A doubles championship with a 3-0 record. Senior Justin Olexa and sophomore Austin Blake also had a good showing in Flight A doubles, capturing a win in the consolation finals on the final day. Salomon finished as the runner up for A Flight singles, while Blake took home third place in the top flight.

AT LAST YEAR'S EVENT: Playing against opponents from George Mason, Mary Washington and Christopher Newport, the Mount racked up a number of victories in singles and doubles play at last season's event. The doubles duos of Mike Salomon and Adam Salam, as well as Mike Zabetakis and Austin Blake, and Patrick McGinley and Justin Olexa all went 2-1 in doubles and added one singles win apiece at last year's event.

OLD WITH THE NEW:  Half of the Mount's starters from last year's 15-7 team are back including Adam Salam (No. 2), Austin Blake (No. 4) and Mike Zabetakis (No. 5). Coach Phil Hammond's challenge will be finding replacements for the other three starters with the graduation of Matt Blake (No. 1), Mike Salomon (No. 3) and Taylor Place (No. 6).

SIX NEWCOMERS: Five freshmen and one transfer student joined the Mount men's tennis team this fall. Maryland natives Chandler Costello, Mike Lake and Matt Zabetakis as well as Louis Tonon from North Carolina and Darren Mast from Pennsylvania are currently in their freshman campaigns. Peter Salomon, who transferred to the Mount from Marion Military Institute, has three years of eligibility remaining.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Phil Hammond is entering his 10th season at the helm for the Mount. In his first nine seasons, Hammond has built both the men's and women's programs into perennial contenders in the Northeast Conference. On the women's side, Hammond's coaching record is 117-83, while putting together an 88-103 mark with the men's team.

UP NEXT: The Mountaineers will host Shepherd for a match on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m.