Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Set to Face No. 33 UCF
March 05, 2020 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 20-ranked Texas Tech men's tennis team will play host to No. 33 UCF at 5 p.m. on Friday at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders are 12-4 on the year, including a 6-0 mark in matches played in Lubbock.
RED RAIDERS IN THE RANKINGS:
The Oracle/ITA rankings were updated on Tuesday, March 3rd and the Red Raiders remained in the top-25 with a team ranking of 20, their second-highest spot of the season.
Senior Parker Wynn reached the highest ranking of his Red Raider career on Tuesday when he landed at No. 48 in singles. Junior Ilgiz Valiev was ranked No. 87 and freshman Reed Collier was slotted at the No. 116 position.
Wynn and teammate Bjorn Thomson were selected as the No. 64 doubles team.
QUICK HITS:
Thomson surpassed former Red Raider Gonzalo Escobar to set a new program record for doubles wins at 87 following a spectacular start to his senior campaign in which he has racked up seven doubles wins with both Wynn and Valiev. Thomson also has a second-leading tally of eight singles victories in 2020 to just three losses.
Sophomore Franco Ribero and freshman Connor Johnson are the lone Red Raiders to hold undefeated margins in singles play with multiple dual matches under their belt. Ribero leads the team with a 9-0 record, while Johnson is currently 5-0 to begin his career. Ribero currently holds a 13-match win streak dating back to the 2019 fall campaign.
Head coach Daniel Whitehead has found success in a recent shuffling of doubles partners, as the combinations of Collier/Wynn and Thomson/Valiev are a combined 11-3 this season, including a six-match win streak for Thomson and Valiev at the No. 3 position. The Red Raiders are 17-14 overall in doubles matches this year.
Tech has played UCF three times in the program's history and currently holds an all-time advantage of 2-1. All three matches have been played in Orlando, where the Red Raiders most recently picked up a 4-2 victory over the Golden Knights in 2019. Coincidentally, UCF was also ranked No. 33 in last year's contest.
The Red Raiders will be in search of their third victory over a ranked foe in their last four matches against top-50 opponents on Friday, as Tech has knocked off No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 27 Middle Tennessee this season. Friday's matchup will be the first ranked test for the Red Raiders in Lubbock this season.
LIVE VIDEO AND STATS:
Live video for all matches played at the McLeod Tennis Center will be provided by PlaySight at the following link. Live stats for the weekend's event will also be available here. The password for live stats is "media2020".
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders will once again hit the road to compete in the 2020 USD Invite in San Diego from March 14-15 before heading the Palm Desert, Calif. to participate in the Oracle Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge from March 21-22.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men's tennis program. Fans are also encouraged to follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/techmenstennis and @TexasTechMTEN on Twitter and Instagram.
The Red Raiders are 12-4 on the year, including a 6-0 mark in matches played in Lubbock.
RED RAIDERS IN THE RANKINGS:
The Oracle/ITA rankings were updated on Tuesday, March 3rd and the Red Raiders remained in the top-25 with a team ranking of 20, their second-highest spot of the season.
Senior Parker Wynn reached the highest ranking of his Red Raider career on Tuesday when he landed at No. 48 in singles. Junior Ilgiz Valiev was ranked No. 87 and freshman Reed Collier was slotted at the No. 116 position.
Wynn and teammate Bjorn Thomson were selected as the No. 64 doubles team.
QUICK HITS:
Thomson surpassed former Red Raider Gonzalo Escobar to set a new program record for doubles wins at 87 following a spectacular start to his senior campaign in which he has racked up seven doubles wins with both Wynn and Valiev. Thomson also has a second-leading tally of eight singles victories in 2020 to just three losses.
Sophomore Franco Ribero and freshman Connor Johnson are the lone Red Raiders to hold undefeated margins in singles play with multiple dual matches under their belt. Ribero leads the team with a 9-0 record, while Johnson is currently 5-0 to begin his career. Ribero currently holds a 13-match win streak dating back to the 2019 fall campaign.
Head coach Daniel Whitehead has found success in a recent shuffling of doubles partners, as the combinations of Collier/Wynn and Thomson/Valiev are a combined 11-3 this season, including a six-match win streak for Thomson and Valiev at the No. 3 position. The Red Raiders are 17-14 overall in doubles matches this year.
Tech has played UCF three times in the program's history and currently holds an all-time advantage of 2-1. All three matches have been played in Orlando, where the Red Raiders most recently picked up a 4-2 victory over the Golden Knights in 2019. Coincidentally, UCF was also ranked No. 33 in last year's contest.
The Red Raiders will be in search of their third victory over a ranked foe in their last four matches against top-50 opponents on Friday, as Tech has knocked off No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 27 Middle Tennessee this season. Friday's matchup will be the first ranked test for the Red Raiders in Lubbock this season.
LIVE VIDEO AND STATS:
Live video for all matches played at the McLeod Tennis Center will be provided by PlaySight at the following link. Live stats for the weekend's event will also be available here. The password for live stats is "media2020".
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders will once again hit the road to compete in the 2020 USD Invite in San Diego from March 14-15 before heading the Palm Desert, Calif. to participate in the Oracle Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge from March 21-22.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men's tennis program. Fans are also encouraged to follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/techmenstennis and @TexasTechMTEN on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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