LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Patriots battled in a pair of neutral site contests, both of which in Wichita Falls, Texas. With their first match rained out on Friday, the two teams took to the court on Saturday and faced Nebraska Kearney.
There, the Patriots men put together a 6-1 victory, nearly pulling off the sweep. With that win, the Patriots won their sixth match in their last seven attempts. For the Patriots women, they hung tough with the #26 Lopers throughout the contest, but the Lopers ultimately squeaked out a 4-3 win.
On Sunday, the teams wrapped up their weekend with contests against Washburn. On the men's side, they got it rolling in doubles, but couldn't find the edge in singles and fell 4-1. For the women, #5 Washburn proved to be a difficult task, and they fell by a score of 4-0.
NATIONAL ATTENTION
In the latest ITA Tennis rankings, the Patriots men have found their way up to #11, marking the fourth straight week they have been ranked inside the top 12. The men stand at a record of 7-3 on the year, with four of those wins against opponents ranked in the ITA Rankings.
Joaquin Bianchi and
Egor Shestakov are also ranking in the ITA Singles Rankings, with Bianchi coming in at #18 and Shestakov at #43.
On the women's side, the fearsome doubles pair of
Muskan Gupta and
Allison Schwartz have put together a strong start, and they are ranked #31 in the latest ITA Rankings. Gupta alone is also ranked in the ITA Singles Rankings, coming in this week at #35.
THIS WEEK'S SLATE
This week see's both programs face off with Augustana and St. Thomas Aquinas, and the men's program has added a match with Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and the women have added a match with Shippensburg, both on Thursday evening.
The slate begins with Augustana on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. CST. Their men's program is 3-5 on the year thus far and are winners of their last two matches. Thus far, it is the efforts of Henry Dornbusch leading them at 4-2 in singles, and he pairs with Thomas Kano for the best doubles record at 4-2 as well.
On the women's side of the Vikings program, they are winners of the last five matches in a row and hold a record of 7-1. They are led by Senem Ocal, who has posted a perfect record of 7-0 in her singles matches this spring. In doubles, Florentia Hadjigeorgiou and Aleksandra Kistanova have combined for a 6-1 record thus far.
Also on Thursday, the Patriots men's program will take on Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. It will be the first time the two teams have met in program history.
The women will also pick up a match on Thursday evening, as they square off with Shippensburg. The Raiders are 1-7 on the year, with two of those matches coming this spring. They are led by Kendall Winters in singles action, who sports a record of 2-4. In doubles, Winters pairs with Brighid Cantwell, who holds a record of 1-1 in limited action.
On Friday, both teams square off with St. Thomas Aquinas as they wrap up their short trip to Orlando. The Spartans men's team is 5-2 on the year and winners of their last three matches. They are led in doubles by Ludovico Truffelli and Nathan Yacar, and over in singles by Tobias Fuerschuss.
On their women's side, the Spartans are 10-1 on the year and winners of nine straight. They are led by Ebba Rosberg and Samanta Villegas Robles in doubles, and Rosberg also leads the way in singles.
NEXT UP
Following this week's action, the Patriots will set their sights on the Lone Star Conference schedule. That slate begins on March 22, as both teams head all the way out to Silver City, New Mexico to take on Western New Mexico. They then make the drive to Odessa, Texas on March 24 to take on UT Permian Basin.
