TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler heads out for Arlington, Texas this week as the #2 seeded Patriots will take on #7 seed UT Permian Basin in the first round of the LSC postseason tournament at 12 p.m. on Thursday.
FIRST APPEARANCE
The men's program at UT Tyler will be making their first ever appearance at the LSC postseason tournament after being ineligible last season due to being in the final year of transition to Division II.
Last season, the Patriots claimed their first ever LSC title after going a perfect 7-0 against LSC competition during the regular season.
ON A ROLL
The Patriots head into the postseason with a 6-1 record in the LSC regular season. The program began their conference slate with five consecutive victories, including a win over then #25 Cameron by a score of 4-3. Their only loss of the year came back on April 10 as they dropped a close battle to Midwestern State by a score of 4-3.
The Patriots are led by strong singles play as they have three players with just one loss or fewer on their LSC record.
Gonzalo Fernandez Gil is 6-1 on the year and was recently named to the All-LSC First Team Singles team.
Moritz Mayer and
Yudai Watanabe are 6-1 and 7-0, respectively, and each were named to the All-LSC Second Team Singles.
In doubles, the pair of Fernandez Gil and Mayer made their name as one of the top doubles teams in the conference as they were each named to the All-LSC First Team Doubles team. Those two combined for a 6-1 record in LSC competition, with their only loss coming against Midwestern State.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and the Falcons have faced off five times in their program's histories, and those matches date back to 2017. That inaugural match came on February 17, 2017, and saw UT Tyler take home an 8-1 victory. Most recently, the two teams met on April 2 of this season and the Patriots took a 7-0 victory at Summers Tennis Center.
In that contest, the Patriots swept the board, winning all three doubles matches and then all six singles matches. Just two of the six singles matches went to a third and final set.
THE SCOUTING REPORT
For the Falcons, Enrique Sanchez leads the way in singles. Sanchez was recently announced as a member of the All-LSC Second Team Singles team and went 2-5 on the season in LSC play. Patryk Kosinski was also an All-LSC selection, making his mark as a member of the Honorable Mention Singles team. Kosinski finished the year at 5-2 against LSC competition.
In doubles, the duo of Sanchez and Fernando Siqueira sit at 3-3 in LSC play and 7-3 overall on the season. The pair won their most recent match against Western New Mexico and had a five match winning streak earlier this season.
Coaching the Falcons is Stan Anderson. Anderson is in his second season with UT Permian Basin after spending the previous 25 seasons at Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas. Most recently, Anderson led the Falcons to the LSC postseason tournament last season before it was called off due to rain.
ON THE HORIZON
The winner of Thursday's match will move on to the semifinal round to face the winner of the match between #3 Cameron and #6 Western New Mexico. That semifinal contest is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Friday. The winner of the semifinal will move on to the LSC Championship that is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
