The Alabama women’s tennis team will travel to Cary, N.C., this weekend to compete in the Duke Fab Four Invitational. The Crimson Tide is no stranger to this particular contest, as they played in the very same tournament last year.

This particular event, hosted by Duke, is different from the average tennis tournament. Only the top four players from every team compete.

“This really is a great event,” head coach Jenny Mainz said. “[Last year] we really enjoyed and benefitted from it eventually, because it created a lot of opportunities for us.”

Last year, Alabama returned home from Cary with 12 wins — a solid result for the Tide.

The main focus of their time at the Duke Invitational will be maximizing the opportunity they are given by playing teams like the ones competing this weekend.

The event is comprised of the top four players of each team. This year it will include the following schools: University of Virginia, Duke University, University of North Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, University of Texas, College of William & Mary, Miami University, University of Illinois, Purdue University and University of Alabama.

They open the fall season with experience under their belts, as all but one, freshman Emily Zabor, are returning players of the Crimson Tide.

Tide seniors Taylor Lindsey and Courtney McLane will enter into this weekend on a high note. The pair won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Collegiate Summer Circuit Doubles Championship just in Aug.

The pair will play together again this weekend.

“Taylor and Courtney are great doubles partners,” Mainz said about the championship-winning twosome. “They’ve worked hard this summer and have got a lot of experience.”

The Tide will be exposed to teams from across the board this weekend, as Ole Miss is the only other Southeastern Conference team included in the tournament. Exposure to out-of-conference play could prove beneficial when the spring season rolls around.

“It provides us with a bunch of opportunity to play ranked opponents very early in the season,” Mainz said.

The fall season is used primarily as a developmental time, allowing players to work on their game. It also allocates time for teams to build a base, Mainz said.

The Tide will focus on quality match play throughout the fall, aiming for improvement.

The Tide finished the spring season as SEC western division champions, advancing as far as round 32 in the NCAA Tournament. They also made their mark in the history books with an eight-match winning streak in the SEC, which marked the longest run against conference opponents without a loss in program history.

The team was awarded countless other accolades for their work on and off the court.

After their time in North Carolina, the Tide will continue to travel across the country for tournament-play in South Carolina, California, New York, Tennessee and Alabama.

Alabama hosts its own tournament in October in Tuscaloosa, the Roberta Alison Fall Classic.