The men’s tennis team’s fall practice schedule is in full swing as N.C. State prepares for its fall tournament schedule, which kicks off Sept. 12 with the UNC-Wilmington Invitational.

The Wolfpack return an integral part of a team that finished 12-14, but seventh year head coach Jon Choboy admits that the development of the younger players will ultimately determine the team’s success this spring.

“[We have] a little bit of experience in the top half of our lineup but virtually none at the bottom,” Choboy said. “We want to work our younger guys and quicken their development.”

Choboy said the fall tournaments will be the first tests for his youthful players that want to contribute this year.

“This fall will be more critical than years past,” Choboy said. “Our objective is to measure some of these young guys in these match situations, so we’ll be doing a lot of evaluations.”

The coaching staff is also trying different practice structures to assure that the team will be ready to compete in tournaments as well as the spring season.

“We’re breaking practices down so our coaches can focus more and get more individual time with the guys,” Choboy said.

State opens the fall season with the invitational in Wilmington, and follows it up with tournaments at Penn State and in Athens, Ga., before heading to Chapel Hill for the UNC Invitational. The team then is scheduled to compete in the Gamecock Invitational and Alabama Invitational before the fall season closes in late October.

A hearty fall schedule should give the Pack’s younger players plenty of opportunities to get match experience and develop before the spring season opens against UNC-W on Jan. 14, but Choboy stressed the team’s success was dependent on the players’ work ethic and drive.

“[This fall is] going to be a process of figuring out what these young guys have,” Choboy said. “It depends on how they develop.”