BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's tennis team is set to host Incarnate Word and Arkansas for a Friday twin billing at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies (6-5) and Cardinals (7-5) will square off at noon (CT) before opening SEC play against the Razorbacks (9-4) at 6 p.m. (CT).
"We have had a solid week of practice and I anticipate our team will respond well tomorrow," head coach Steve Denton said. "I am very excited to see some of our players see some action against Incarnate Word. They work extremely hard and deserve an opportunity to get a match under their belt and show the coaches what they can do. Additionally, we are extremely excited to begin our SEC schedule. Arkansas is a very experienced and well-coached team. They beat us in Fayetteville last year so we will need to be ready for a fight."
TEXAS A&M RANKINGS UPDATE
A&M's Raphael Perot has won five of his last six matches to ascend to a career-high No. 50 singles ranking. The sophomore moved to 3-1 against ranked foes this season with a win over then-No. 38 Alexandre Rotsaert of No. 8 Stanford at the ITA Indoor Team Championships.
Austin Abbrat and Noah Schachter continue to appear in the doubles rankings, the pair landed at No. 50 this week after posting a win against Issac Arevalo and Piotr Pawlak of Texas Tech. The Maroon & White duo have recorded a pair of ranked wins this season, highlighted by an 8-7 result against Finn Bass and Sven Lah of Baylor, currently ranked No. 19.
SCOUTING UIW
UIW travels to the Brazos Valley on the heels of a six-match win streak including five sweeps. On the heels of last week's wins over St. Thomas and UTRGV, graduate Warren Fulgenzi was named Southland Conference Player of the Week.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas opens SEC play after splitting a double header last Sunday in Fayetteville against UCF and Oral Roberts. After dropping a 4-1 match to the Knights, the Razorbacks rebounded with a 7-0 victory over the Golden Eagles. Arkansas is led by sophomore Aleksa Bucan's 12-6 record this year while sophomore Alex Reco has recorded a 4-4 mark on court one in dual matches. No. 37 Reco and No. 38 Bucan are joined by No. 119 Oscar Pinto Sansano in the latest singles ranking. Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel pace the squad with a 15-5 doubles mark this season and land at No. 47 in the ITA doubles rankings.
PROMOTIONS
Friday's matches will feature the return of concessions to the Mitchell Tennis Center. Maui Wowi will be serving smoothies, in addition to other fan-favorite items on the second level of the facility towards the middle of the concourse. Fans are reminded that no outside food or beverages are permitted inside Texas A&M athletic facilities. All venues are cashless this season.
Fans are encouraged to stop at the marketing table inside the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center, where fans can enter to win free Adidas merchandise, pick up roster cards and more. After each Aggie men's tennis match this season, select student-athletes will be made available for autographs inside the front entrance to the facility. Be sure to stick around to meet and greet the Aggies.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
General admission seating on a first-come, first-served basis is free for all spectators and Texas A&M students in the second-level grandstand of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Courtside seating is available for season ticket holders in the Springer Family Stadium Club.
Friday's matches will be streamed on 12thman.com via Playsight. Fans are encouraged to click here to tune in. Additionally, live scoring for A&M's SEC home opener will be available here for UIW and here for Arkansas.
Cracked Racquets debuts their Redzone Broadcast coverage of SEC tennis on Friday, fans can listen to Alex Gruskin on the call of all the action around the league on the Cracked Raquets YouTube channel here. The broadcast will bounce around to the most interesting matchups and crucial points at each SEC venue.
For any additional questions and more information on the amenities at the Mitchell Tennis Center, click the link here to be redirected to the Tennis Gameday Central page.
PARKING
Parking for Friday's match will be available to fans for $5 in Lot 100D and Lot 100E. Parking payment kiosks are located near the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center in Lot 100D. Disabled parking is available in each lot. Fans and current students with an active Texas A&M parking permit are allowed free admission into both lots.
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue their 10-match home stand with a double header on Wednesday, March 9, against UT Arlington and No. 13 Texas at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. (CT), respectively.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Aggie fans can also keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook or on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN.
"We have had a solid week of practice and I anticipate our team will respond well tomorrow," head coach Steve Denton said. "I am very excited to see some of our players see some action against Incarnate Word. They work extremely hard and deserve an opportunity to get a match under their belt and show the coaches what they can do. Additionally, we are extremely excited to begin our SEC schedule. Arkansas is a very experienced and well-coached team. They beat us in Fayetteville last year so we will need to be ready for a fight."
TEXAS A&M RANKINGS UPDATE
A&M's Raphael Perot has won five of his last six matches to ascend to a career-high No. 50 singles ranking. The sophomore moved to 3-1 against ranked foes this season with a win over then-No. 38 Alexandre Rotsaert of No. 8 Stanford at the ITA Indoor Team Championships.
Austin Abbrat and Noah Schachter continue to appear in the doubles rankings, the pair landed at No. 50 this week after posting a win against Issac Arevalo and Piotr Pawlak of Texas Tech. The Maroon & White duo have recorded a pair of ranked wins this season, highlighted by an 8-7 result against Finn Bass and Sven Lah of Baylor, currently ranked No. 19.
SCOUTING UIW
UIW travels to the Brazos Valley on the heels of a six-match win streak including five sweeps. On the heels of last week's wins over St. Thomas and UTRGV, graduate Warren Fulgenzi was named Southland Conference Player of the Week.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas opens SEC play after splitting a double header last Sunday in Fayetteville against UCF and Oral Roberts. After dropping a 4-1 match to the Knights, the Razorbacks rebounded with a 7-0 victory over the Golden Eagles. Arkansas is led by sophomore Aleksa Bucan's 12-6 record this year while sophomore Alex Reco has recorded a 4-4 mark on court one in dual matches. No. 37 Reco and No. 38 Bucan are joined by No. 119 Oscar Pinto Sansano in the latest singles ranking. Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel pace the squad with a 15-5 doubles mark this season and land at No. 47 in the ITA doubles rankings.
PROMOTIONS
Friday's matches will feature the return of concessions to the Mitchell Tennis Center. Maui Wowi will be serving smoothies, in addition to other fan-favorite items on the second level of the facility towards the middle of the concourse. Fans are reminded that no outside food or beverages are permitted inside Texas A&M athletic facilities. All venues are cashless this season.
Fans are encouraged to stop at the marketing table inside the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center, where fans can enter to win free Adidas merchandise, pick up roster cards and more. After each Aggie men's tennis match this season, select student-athletes will be made available for autographs inside the front entrance to the facility. Be sure to stick around to meet and greet the Aggies.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
General admission seating on a first-come, first-served basis is free for all spectators and Texas A&M students in the second-level grandstand of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Courtside seating is available for season ticket holders in the Springer Family Stadium Club.
Friday's matches will be streamed on 12thman.com via Playsight. Fans are encouraged to click here to tune in. Additionally, live scoring for A&M's SEC home opener will be available here for UIW and here for Arkansas.
Cracked Racquets debuts their Redzone Broadcast coverage of SEC tennis on Friday, fans can listen to Alex Gruskin on the call of all the action around the league on the Cracked Raquets YouTube channel here. The broadcast will bounce around to the most interesting matchups and crucial points at each SEC venue.
For any additional questions and more information on the amenities at the Mitchell Tennis Center, click the link here to be redirected to the Tennis Gameday Central page.
PARKING
Parking for Friday's match will be available to fans for $5 in Lot 100D and Lot 100E. Parking payment kiosks are located near the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center in Lot 100D. Disabled parking is available in each lot. Fans and current students with an active Texas A&M parking permit are allowed free admission into both lots.
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue their 10-match home stand with a double header on Wednesday, March 9, against UT Arlington and No. 13 Texas at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. (CT), respectively.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Aggie fans can also keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook or on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN.