LOOKING STRONG
Last weekend, the Patriots hosted St. Mary's and DBU for a pair of matches at Summers Tennis Center. Men's tennis swept their two matches in brilliant fashion, not conceding a point in either match. Against St. Mary's, they came away with a 4-0 win after a dramatic doubles victory. Against DBU, the Patriots looked dominant in all facets, not dropping a single match on their way to a huge 7-0 win to remain undefeated in LSC play.
For the Patriots women, they would split their two matches, but both of their matches would come against ranked opponents. Against #17 St. Mary's, the Patriots looked tough, coming back after dropping the doubles point to give the Rattlers all they wanted before falling by a score of 4-2. That narrow defeat spurred on confidence, and the Patriots took down #42 DBU by a margin of 5-2 to bounce right back.
HOLDING STEADY NATIONALLY
UT Tyler men's tennis continues to hold steady in the top 10 in the ITA Rankings, coming in at #8 this week. The Patriots are 13-1 on the year and have won their last 12 consecutive matches. In that winning streak, four of those wins have come against nationally ranked opponents, and four of those have come against LSC foes.
Gonzalo Fernandez Gil and
Joaquin Bianchi are each ranked in the top 10 in the singles rankings, with Fernandez Gil ranking fifth and Bianchi ranking ninth. As a doubles pair, the duo is #13 overall.
THE LSC RACE
Both teams are fortunately in a position where they mostly hold their own destiny in their respective conference championship races. The Patriots men remain undefeated, and are the only team that is 4-0. They have four LSC matches remaining, two of which are against undefeated teams in #13 Cameron and #28 Midwestern State.
The Patriots women have played to an LSC record of 3-1, with their only defeat at the hands of St. Mary's. They are one of three teams that are 3-1, and there are just two teams that hold better records thus far. Both of those teams are programs that the Patriots have yet to play, and with wins they could find themselves right in the mix at the end of the regular season.
THE SCOUTING REPORT
Saturday's match against UAFS will be a good test for the Patriots as it marks the first road LSC matchup of the season for both programs. On the men's side, UAFS is 1-2 in LSC play and 3-7 overall. The Lions women are 0-5 in conference play and 1-13 overall.
The Lions men are led by the combination of Anis Ramchane and Killian Darneaux in doubles matches, holding a record of 8-2. In singles, Eduardo Bribiesca and Juan Rosello lead the way with records of 7-3 and 6-4 overall.
For the Lions women, they are led by Joanna Potet and Arianna de Bernardo. In singles matches, it is de Bernardo and Potet again who hold the teams best records.
The UAFS programs are led by head coach Ben Anderson, who is now in his sixth season. He previously served as an interim coach for one season and a volunteer assistant for four.
The Saturday match against UAFS will do well to prepare the Patriots for Monday's match, as both teams take on a top ranked opponent in Cameron. The men's Aggies rank #13 in the latest ITA Rankings and come in at a record of 7-2 on the season and 3-0 in LSC play. They are led in doubles by Tomas Almeida and Thomas Cardona, and they also combine to be two of their top singles players.
The women's side of the Aggies currently rank #18 in the latest ITA Rankings, and they are 9-1 overall and 5-0 in LSC competition. Their program is led by Anastasia Uspenskaia and Vasilisa Polunova in doubles, and then Lea Manga and Uspenskaia in singles matches.
NEXT UP
Following this weekend's slate of matches, the Patriots will return home to Summers Tennis Center to host Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian. Those two matches will take place on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday also doubling as Senior Day for UT Tyler.
