ALCORN STATE, Mississippi – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team (3-3) kicks off a stretch of seven road matches in seven days when they visit the Alcorn State University Braves (3-3) on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
 
The Series
 
The Broncs are 3-0 all-time against the Braves in a series that dates back to 2000.
 
Year-by-Year Results:
2000 – W 8-1
2001 – W 6-1
2002 – W 6-1
 
Last Time Out
 
The Broncs are coming off of a 6-1 loss to #45 University of Portland on Saturday at the UTSA Tennis Center.
 
The Broncs played three extremely competitive matches in doubles, with the team of Bernstein and Chetan Panditi winning in the #1 position 9-7. Ricardo Hopker and Sebastien Job had a near miss, falling 9-8 in the #3 position, while Rolf Niederstrasser and Victor Alves lost 8-6 in the #2 position to give the Pilots the point.
 
Bernstein recorded the Broncs' lone point of the day in a three-set victory over Stefan Micov, 7-5, 5-7 (14-12) in the #1 singles spot.
 
The Pilots won the remaining singles matches in straight sets. Hopker played a strong match in the #2 spot, falling to Geoff Hernandez 6-4, 6-2. Panditi and Job each fell 6-3, 6-2 in the #3 and #4 spots respectively. Niederstrasser lost in the #5 position 6-3, 6-1 and Harlingen-native Shane Kyral lost in the #6 spot 6-1, 6-1.
 
Scouting the Braves
 
This is the first home match for the Braves this season. They're 3-0 at neutral sites and 0-3 on the road this season.
 
The Braves picked up all three of their wins at the SWAC Round Up, beating Mississippi State Valley University 7-0, the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff 6-1 and Alabama A&M 6-1.
 
The Braves had very good play from all positions, with undefeated play from Alexander Lidzar and Max Tkachenko, at #3 doubles and strong performances from Ernesto Santillan and Winfried Weinbeer at #1 doubles.
 
Local Flavor
 
The Broncs have a Rio Grande Valley native on the squad. Freshman Shane Kyral is from Harlingen and was part of a Harlingen South High School team that was ranked #6 in the state, finishing as the regional runner up in the 5A school division.
 
Next Up
 
The Broncs visit the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Friday at 2:30 p.m.