Newark, NJ - Several members of the NJIT men's tennis team are set to head down the Turnpike on Thursday to kick off action at the ITA Northeast Regional Tournament, which will be hosted by the University of Pennsylvania through early next week.

"The Northeast  is a very strong region and the tournament features some of the top ranked players in the country of which many hold ATP and ITF World Tour Rankings," said Head Coach Marco Matteucci. "It's great to be back competing in this tournament. and it's even better to bring multiple team members to compete this weekend

Veteran Abdullah Fouad qualified for the main singles draw, while teammates Amine El Kholti and Ashwin Kanetkar will first compete in the qualifying draw to and earn a spot in the main draw,

Fouad and El Kholti will be one of two Highlanders tandems to also take part in the doubles competition, which they qualified in the main draw. Kanetkar will team up with Samuel Townes in the qualifying draw.

The qualifying draw begins at 9am on Thursday, while the main draw gets underway at 9am on Friday.

"I am looking forward to seeing us performing amongst the region's best competition," concluded Matteucci.