FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's tennis team gets its 2017-18 season underway this Friday through Sunday at the Joe Hunt Invitational.
 
Hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy, the third annual event will feature host Navy, Delaware, Monmouth, Temple, St. Bonaventure, George Washington, Mary Washington, Johns Hopkins, Liberty and Christopher Newport.
 
The tournament will feature six singles flights and a quartet of doubles flights over the course of the three days.
 
The early season tournament format will afford Mason's student-athletes a number of opportunities to gain valuable reps in a singles flight format, with each athlete playing at least four matches. In addition, the Patriots will be able to test out potential doubles pairings prior to beginning the dual schedule this winter.
 
Mason's talented 2017-18 roster includes 2017 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection Pally Ray and three other starters from last season. That group features rising sophomores Jakob Nielsen and Edward Ayers, as well as senior Daniel Gutierrez.
 
Mason also returns Alexis Pinnsoneault, a talented sophomore who battled injury during his freshman campaign, as well as senior Giuliano Buzoianu and sophomore Isaiah Volk.
 
Gutierrez and Ray paired up in doubles for much of 2016-17 and posted a 9-8 dual mark while often playing the opposing team's best duo at the No. 1 position.
 
Ayers partnered with departed senior [and current student assistant coach] Andrew Curtis to make a formidable duo at No. 3 last season. They went 10-7 in dual action and posted an excellent 5-1 record in A-10 play.
 
He will look to form a similarly successful doubles duo this season, as will Jakob Nielsen, who partnered last season with departed senior James Lange.
 
Nielsen held down the No. 3 singles position for much of 2016-17 while tallying a 10-5 record at that spot. Ayers also put together a strong freshman season at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, going a combined 11-4 (and a perfect 5-0 at No. 5). Both student-athletes will look to continue their improvement as sophomores this season.
 
Gutierrez also saw time at No. 5 doubles and went 7-5. He also was strong in the fall season while recording an 8-3 mark in singles tournament play.
 
This weekend's tournament is named for Joe Hunt, who won [what became the] NCAA doubles title in 1938 while attending USC, transferred to Navy, won the NCAA singles title in 1941 and then won (what became the) U.S. Open singles title in 1943.  He lost his life in a training flight in 1945.