• Complete ITA Kick-Off Weekend Draws
• Final 2014-15 ITA Team Rankings

DAVIS, Calif. -- Coming off the finest Division I season in school history, the UC Davis men's tennis team finished the year ranked No. 58 in the nation and earned a spot in the eighth-annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Kick-Off Weekend to be held on Jan. 22-24, 2016.

Ranked as high as No. 53 in the nation this season, the Aggies will travel to Los Angeles to take on national powerhouse USC, with Pepperdine and Tulane rounding out the field at Marks Tennis Stadium. The winner of the four-team "regional" will be invited to compete at the 2016 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship hosted by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 12-15.

"I know we are very excited to have earned the right to play such a powerhouse team like USC, and be a part of a great field in Los Angeles," Head Coach Eric Steidlmayer said. "Our players and staff are very proud of the effort we put in this past season, were happy to earn the results we did, and now hope to extend our level."

UC Davis, making its first-ever appearance in the event, finished the year 16-6 overall, including a perfect 8-0 mark at the Marya Welch Tennis Center, and a share of the Big West Conference regular season title with a 4-1 mark. The Aggies set a school record for wins at the Division I level and were the most for the program since the 1992 squad finished 16-3 en route to the NCAA Division II National Championship.

Steidlmayer, who finished his third season at the helm in 2014-15, was named the Big West Coach of the Year while seven of his student-athletes earned All-Big West honors at the conclusion of the campaign. Sophomore's Alec Adamson and James Wade were named first-team singles, while Adamson and Adam Levie (second team), Brett Bacharach and Bryce McKelvie (second team), and Tommy Lam and Wade (honorable mention), earned honors in doubles

UC Davis is one of four Big West schools invited to participate, as UC Irvine is the No. 4 seed at Baylor, UC Santa Barbara is the No. 4 seed at Georgia, and Cal Poly is the No. 3 seed at Wake Forest.

"We are part of a great conference with three other teams included in the Kick Off field, and know we will want to continue to improve our ability to compete at the highest levels over the course of the summer and into the next dual match season," Steidlmayer said. "We think UC Davis is a fantastic school, and is becoming a great place to play collegiate tennis."

The Trojans finished the season ranked No. 7 in the nation, reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive year to cap off a 25-5 season. USC has won the national championship in five of the last seven seasons and 21 times overall, most recently claiming crowns in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. The Trojans reached the championship match of last year's ITA National Team Indoor Championships, falling to Oklahoma, 4-2.

Wrapping up the 2014-15 season ranked No. 36 in the country, the Waves finished the year 18-10 overall and 7-2 in West Coast Conference play, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament following an upset of No. 22 Florida in last season's opening round. Of its 28 duals, Pepperdine faced 18 nationally ranked opponents last season, finishing with a 9-9 mark in those contests. The Waves also participated in last year's Kick-Off Weekend, falling at UCLA (5-0) before defeating Boise State (4-2).

Tulane ended the 2014-15 campaign with a 16-7 overall record and reaching the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference, finishing the year ranked No. 41 in the nation. Although they did not advance to the NCAA Tournament as a team, junior Dominik Koepfer advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship, finishing the year 28-7 overall and 16-3 in duals as the top player in the lineup for the Green Wave. Tulane fell to Baylor (4-0) in the opening round of last year's Kick-Off Weekend, before bouncing back to defeat Miami, 4-1.