Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Hosts Lamar in Final Non-Conference Tune-up
March 26, 2009 | Men's Tennis
March 26, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech men's tennis team will play one final non-conference match prior to beginning Big 12 play as the Red Raiders face Lamar at 1 p.m., Saturday at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders (10-6) are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala., where Tech downed both No. 54 Virginia Commonwealth and No. 25 Oklahoma State, but was dropped by No. 4 Tennessee.
Tech moved up a spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national poll this week as the Red Raiders were selected No. 32. Raony Carvalho was ranked No. 48 in last week's singles poll, while he and teammate Christian Rojmar dropped five spots in doubles from the previous poll to land at No. 15.
Carvalho and Sinisa Markovic have led Tech in singles for most of the season as the duo is a combined 20-8 in duals from the No. 1 and 2 positions. In the back part of the lineup, Milos Kustudija has powered the Red Raiders with an 8-2 record this spring, primarily playing the No. 6 position.
In doubles, Carvalho and Rojmar have posted a 9-4 duals record and are 10-2 against ranked opponents this season. Maybe more impressive, however, has been the work of Tech's other two tandems of Markovic and Michael Breler, and David Gonzalez and Kustudija as both duos are 9-5 in duals this season, powering the Red Raiders to the doubles point in nine of its previous 10 matches.
Lamar enters the weekend 7-6 overall and winners of three of their previous four matches, but is 0-2 against ranked opponents, having scored only one point in those matches. The Cardinals have no players ranked in either of the singles or doubles poll. The Red Raiders will also face former Red Raider Mario Janjic, who transferred from Tech after his freshman year and is currently 6-6 in singles this spring primarily at Lamar's top spot.
The Red Raiders turn to Big 12 action next weekend as they travel to College Station, Texas, for a 6 p.m., match against in-state rival No. 14 Texas A&M on April 3, and then to Austin, Texas, on April 5, for a 1 p.m., match against No. 12 Texas. Tech returns to the McLeod Tennis Center on April 14, to begin a three-match homestand, starting with No. 10 Baylor.
Players Mentioned
