WICHITA, Kan. -- The men's tennis team will host UT Arlington and No. 4 Seward County Community College on Sat., March 25 at the Coleman Tennis Complex. WSU will face UTA at 1 p.m., followed by Seward at 4:30 p.m.
UT Arlington (12-7) was swept by Wichita State in the opening round of the Pacific Mountain Invitational in Stockton, Calif. back on March 20. The Mavericks have gone 4-3 since the loss, and are entering Saturday coming off a 0-7 loss to No. 6 Texas, another familiar opponent to WSU this year. Jhonathan Gonzalez and Mauricio Del Rio are the lone ranked players for UTA, coming in at No. 58 in this week's Oracle/ITA national rankings. Gonzalez and Del Rio also lead the Mavericks in singles play, with Gonzalez owning a 19-5 overall record (14-2 in duals) and Del Rio carrying a 17-8 (11-4) record.
Seward (13-2) comes in riding a five-match winning streak, and is listed at No. 4 in the junior college ranks as of March 16. The Saints feature several ranked players as of November. In doubles, Carlos Anez and Ondrej Nice are the top-ranked duo in the country, while Przemek Zielinski and Gabriel Nery are No. 14. In singles rankings, Anez (No. 5), Nice (No. 11), Zielinski (No. 23) and Duro Opacic (No. 34) are all ranked.
The Shockers (9-8) are coming off a 0-4 loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State on Thursday in Stillwater. Last time WSU played at home, the team lost to then-No. 21 Cornell by a score of 2-4, ending WSU's home win streak that had lasted over a year. Saturday marks the third time all season that Wichita State has played at home.
Haru Inoue is currently ranked No. 79 in the singles rankings.
Saturday marks the first meeting between Wichita State and Seward. WSU swept UTA 4-0 back on March 20 this season.
Looking Ahead:
The Shockers resume MVC play next weekend, facing Illinois State on Fri., March 31 in Normal, Ill., and then Southern Illinois on Sat., April 1 in Carbondale, Ill.
