DALLAS (SMU) - The Mustangs return home from three California matches to take on UTSA and No. 32 Tulane in a two-match homestand at the SMU Tennis Complex. SMU will face UTSA on Saturday, March 24, at 4:30 p.m. and Tulane on Tuesday, March 27, at 5 p.m.
At last weekend's BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge by Oracle, the Mustangs suffered losses against No. 26 Arizona State, BYU and Purdue. The Mustangs put up two points against the top-seeded Sun Devils, including a straight set victory over a nationally-ranked opponent for Freshman
Tomas Vaise. SMU claimed the doubles point vs. BYU for the tenth time this season, but fell short in singles play.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UTSA is coming off back-to-back losses, falling 4-0 to Cal Poly and 7-0 to No. 43 Loyola Marymount last week. The Roadrunners hold a .488 singles winning percentage, but are just .310 in doubles play. Kai Breitbach leads the team with nine singles wins.
The No. 32 Green Wave collected its fifth-straight win against LSU on Wednesday, improving to 11-5 overall. Two Tulane players sit on the ITA/Oracle National Singles Rankings: No. 19 Constantin Schmitz and No. 92 Ewan Moore. Tulane is 1-1 in American Conference matchups this season, losing to No. 445 Memphis, 4-3, in early March. The Green Wave faces a challenge against No. 11 TCU on Sunday before visiting Dallas on Tuesday.
SERIES INFO
The Mustangs hold a perfect 5-0 record against the UTSA Roadrunners with all five victories coming on home courts. The series dates back to 1996, when the Mustangs earned a 7-0 sweep of the Roadrunners. The teams met most recently in 2014 for a 5-2 SMU victory.
Against Tulane, the Mustangs hold a 5-5 all-time record with a 3-2 record at home, but SMU has not defeated the Green Wave since 2013. SMU played one of its final regular season matches against Tulane in 2017, but lost 6-1 on the road.
NEUFELD – ROAD TO 600 WINS
Head Coach
Carl Neufeld is already the winningest active head coach as SMU, but he is one win away from another impressive milestone. Neufeld sits at 599 career wins, with 418 at SMU. The veteran coach is in his 25
th season with SMU and holds a .636 winning percentage on the Hilltop. Neufeld earned his 400th win at SMU when the Mustangs defeated then-No. 19 Arkansas, 4-3, in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Jan. 20, 2017.
TAKING ON RANKED OPPONENTS
The Mustangs have not shied away from tough competition in dual match season, having faced six Oracle/ITA nationally-ranked teams in 18 matches. SMU first traveled to No. 8 Texas, followed by a home match against No. 18 TCU, a road match at No. 10 Oklahoma State, and home matches vs. No. 41 Memphis and No. 9 Columbia. The Mustangs then faced No. 26 Arizona State at the BNP Paribas Collegiate Tennis Challenge. Since taking on Harvard and Arkansas, both teams have appeared on the national rankings as well, with Arkansas listed at No. 50 on Feb. 20 and Harvard reaching as high as No. 23. SMU will play a home match against No. 32 Tulane on March 27.
LAST TIME OUT
SMU Men's Tennis earned the doubles point against BYU on Saturday, but fell 4-1 in the back draw of the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle.
After dropping No. 1 doubles, the Mustangs fought back to claim the point at No. 2 and No. 3.
Charles Nettlefold and
Roberto Rosales won their second-straight match and seventh overall, a 7-5 decision over Sam Tullis and David Ball.
Eladio Fabregas and
Gardiner Perottitook No 2 doubles down to the wire, but clinched the point with a 7-5 victory. Despite winning sets from
Jan-Simon Vrbsky and Nettlefold, the Mustangs weren't able to earn any points before BYU clinched the match on other courts.
SMU could not match the drive of the Boilermakers on Sunday. Vrbsky and Vaise fell to No. 39 Gergely Madarasz/Athell Bennett, and Fabregas and Perotti fell to Maksymilian Raupuk/Mateo Julio to give Purdue the lead heading to singles. The Boilermakers added wins on courts one, four and six to complete the sweep.
LOOKING AHEAD
SMU heads to Tampa, Florida for a conference matchup against USF on Friday, March 30 at 1:30 p.m.
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