Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Open League Play With In-State Rivals
April 01, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Junior Felipe Soares will lead Texas Tech, as the Red Raiders hit the road to face No. 10 TCU and No. 9 Texas this week.
April 1, 2015
FORT WORTH, Texas -- No. 21 Texas Tech has the opportunity to make a statement this week, as the Red Raiders travel to a pair of matches in the Lone Star State.
The Red Raiders will travel to Fort Worth on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. match with No. 10 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Texas Tech will travel south to Austin to face No. 9 Texas on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Caswell Tennis Center, which is scheduled to air on the Longhorn Network.
"I feel good about where we are at heading into conference play," said Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel. "Our younger players have really stepped up and performed well, but our success will have to come at the top two positions with Felipe (Soares) and Hugo (Dojas) if we are to walk away with a tough road win."
Texas Tech opens Big 12 Conference action after going 16-4 in the non-conference, it is the best start to a season an 18-2 start in 2010.
The Red Raiders have won five straight and 10 of their last 12. During the 12-match run, Texas Tech has defeated five teams ranked inside the ITA Top 40.
Texas Tech is led in singles by No. 40 Felipe Soares (18-10) and Hugo Dojas (15-6), along with No. 113 Jolan Cailleau (22-8) and Alex Sendegeya (17-6). Rounding out the rotation is Francisco Zambon (12-10) and Connor Curry (10-11).
If Texas Tech is going to have success in Fort Worth or Austin, doubles could be key. The Red Raiders have won the doubles point just five times this season and are 5-3 when they lose the doubles point.
Soares and Dojas are one of the top tandems in the country, as the Red Raider duo is 12-4 on the season and ranked No. 25 nationally. Cailleau and Sendegeya (1-4) are slotted in the two spot and Curry and Zambon (4-5) are slated for No. 3 doubles. "I think doubles will be key this week," said Siegel. "We are playing better at doubles and I think we have an opportunity to have some success."
Texas Tech is 4-1 in 4-3 matches this season, while Texas is 5-1 and TCU is 1-1. The Red Raiders and Longhorns are 5-3 when losing the doubles point, while the Horned Frogs are 2-6.
TCU (15-6, 1-1 Big 12) has won six of their last seven matches, including wins over No. 4 Illinois and No. 22 Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs have six player on their roster who have won 16 matches thos season, led by No. 76 Guillermo Nunez's 22-4 mark. TCU also is led by No. 36 Nick Chappell (17-4) and No. 37 Cameron Norrie (16-10).
Texas (15-3, 1-1 Big 12) has won eight of their last 10, including Top 25 wins over No. 16 Penn State, No. 13 Columbia, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 22 Oklahoma State. The Longhorns have five players with at least 14 singles wins this season, led by No. 1 Soren Hess-Olesen (25-4) and No. 72 Adrian Berkowicz (26-9). John Mee (15-8), No. 34 Lloyd Glasspool (14-7), and George Goldhoff (13-8) round out the list.
Players Mentioned
