SMU (0-0) vs. Prairie View A&M (0-0) 
Thursday, Jan. 17 | 10 AM & 2 PM
SMU Tennis Complex | Dallas, Texas
 
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2020 Schedule | AMERICAN 
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SMU Men's Tennis opens the 2020 spring slate on Thursday with a doubleheader against Prairie View A&M slated for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex.
 
Entering the second year of the Grant Chen era, the Mustangs are coming off a 12-win season in which they won eight home matches, the most since 2016.
 
The Mustangs return 11 student-athletes from their 2018-19 squad. They bring back 64 of their 77 dual match line wins from 2019 including 13 of their 15 line one victories. In doubles, SMU brings back their winningest duo of Jan-Simon Vrbsky and Tomas Vaise who combined for 8 doubles wins at line one, including two ranked victories.
 
Junior captain Jan-Simon Vrbsky tied for the team lead in wins during the fall tournament campaign. Vrbsky went 12-4 including winning nine of his last 10 matches and peaked at 94 in the rankings.  Vrbsky was the Consolation Champion at the ITA Texas Regional. Fellow captain Gardiner Perotti returns as the longest tenured Mustang as he enters his fourth season on the Hilltop.
 
The SMU roster features two players who have been nationally ranked by the ITA. Along with Vrbsky, Carles Sarrio, the lone senior among the roster, peaked as high as No. 33 in the ITA rankings over the fall. Sarrio won the inaugural Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge hosted at the SMU Tennis Complex. Sarrio earned a wild card bid to a future Oracle Pro Series event in Dallas.
 
NEW ADDITIONS
SMU added five freshmen to the roster for the 2019-20 season as a part of their nationally-ranked 2019 recruiting class. Freshman Ethan Leon tied for the team in the fall with a 12-win performance. The Woodhaven, N.Y. native, took home a title at the Princeton Ivy Plus and started the fall winning 12 of his first 12 matches. Leon also won a doubles title in New Jersey.
 
Junior Caleb Chakravarthi joins the team as a transfer from Illinois. Chakravarthi racked up 31 singles wins while competing with the Illini and posted a 5-4 record in his first semester with the Mustangs.
 
SERIES HISTORY
SMU has a perfect 16-0 mark against Prairie View including two wins in the season-opening doubleheader of the 2019 season. To kick off the season, SMU won the morning indoor match, 7-0 before taking the finale, 6-1. The Mustangs have dropped just four points against the Panthers in the 16 meetings.
 
UP NEXT
After Thursday's twin billing, the Mustangs welcome Northern Colorado and No. 2 Texas on Saturday for another doubleheader.