TEMPE, Ariz. - Following the ITA Kickoff Weekend draft the UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team already knows part of their 2026 spring schedule. For the second season in a row the Gauchos will open up their spring season at the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

The Gauchos will head to Columbus, Ohio joining No. 29 Georgia Tech No. 35 Iowa and host institution No. 6 Ohio State. The event will be held from January 23-26. The Kickoff Weekend Draft provides coaches the opportunity to choose which host site they would like to compete at in the new year.

The event serves as the qualifying pathway to the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. The ITA Kickoff Weekend features 56 of the nation's best women's programs competing at 14 women's host sites across the country.

This past season the Blue and Gold competed in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the University of Michigan site. The team upset No. 21 Vanderbilt before falling to host school the eighth-ranked Michigan Wolverines.

The 14 host sites are as follows:
1. University of Georgia
2. Texas A&M University
3. University of Michigan
4. University of North Carolina
5. Duke University
6. Ohio State University
7. University of Virginia
8. Auburn University
9. University of Tennessee
10. University of Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. NC State
13. University of Texas
14. Texas Tech University

To see the full 56 teams competing click here. The Gauchos full 2026 schedule will be released later in the year.