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CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team (8-16, 1-3 Southland) closes the season with their final Southland Conference match, against the No. 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (14-7, 4-0 Southland), on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
The Broncs will be in the WAC next season.
 
The Broncs
The Broncs have performed well in doubles this season, going 31-27 (.534) in dual play. The Broncs hold winning records at No. 2 (13-8) and No. 3 (11-6).
 
Ricardo Hopker and Chetan Panditi have an 11-6 record, including 10-5 at No. 2 and 1-1 at No. 1.
 
Victor Alves and Thomas-Orestis Panoulas are 10-6, including a 10-5 record at No. 3.
 
Scouting the Islanders
The Islanders are 19-31 (.380) in dual doubles play, but 4-2 (.667) in Southland Conference play. Peter Nagy is 8-6 at No. 1, including 4-1 with Gergo Weidinger and 4-5 with Odon Barta.
 
The Islanders are 69-42 (.622) in dual singles play, including 22-2 (.917) in Southland Conference play. The Islanders have winning records at four courts, including 16-2 at No. 1, where Nagy is 14-2, 13-5 a No. 3, and 11-8 at both No. 4 and No. 5.
 
Series History
This is the 60^th meeting all-time between the Broncs and the Islanders in a series dating back to 1961. The Broncs have 13 wins in that time, with the most recent one coming in 2010, 4-3 in Corpus Christi.
 
Last Time Out
The Broncs fell on the road to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin Cajuns 1-5 on April 14. The Broncs got their lone point at No. 6 singles, where Joseph Bishop defeated Frankie Hoar 6-2, 6-2.
 
Panoulas Honored
After leading the Broncs to a 2-1 record and going 5-1, freshman Thomas-Orestis Panoulas became the second Bronc to earn Southland Conference Player of the Week honors on March 26. Panoulas started the week by earning the Broncs' lone point against No. 54 Arkansas, 3-6, 6-4 (10-5) over Manfred Jeske at No. 1 singles. He also swept through singles and doubles (with Victor Alves) in a doubleheader sweep of Incarnate Word and Prairie View A&M.
 
Freshmen Flare
Felix Hasselberg made his dual singles debut against Schreiner on March 2, winning 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6. Joseph Bishop played at No. 5 for the first time, winning 6-0, 6-1. The two teamed up in doubles, winning 8-1 at No. 3 in what was Bishop's dual doubles debut.
 
Awesome Alves
Junior Victor Alves got off to a hot start in dual play, going 2-1 in singles and 2-1 doubles over the Broncs' first four matches. Alves had a 4-0 weekend during the Broncs' first two home matches on Feb. 1 and 3, teaming with Panoulas to win twice at No. 3 doubles, and then picking up a win at No. 5 singles against Laredo Community College and at No. 6 against UTSA. Alves was the first to finish in singles both times. For his efforts, Alves earned Southland Conference Player of the Week honors.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Broncs went 6-4 at home this season.
 
This is the most home matches the Broncs have had in a single season since the turn of the century.
 
Tough Schedule
The Broncs are challenging themselves this season and currently boast a schedule that includes nine matches against ranked opponents:
 
Division I ranked opponents (0-5):
1/16 @ No. 29 Texas Tech, L 1-6
1/27 @ No. 54 Rice, L 0-7
2/16 @ No. 18 Baylor, L 0-7
3/19 @ No. 54 Arkansas, L 1-6
3/30 @ No. 36 TCU, L 1-6
4/20 @ No. 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
 
Division II ranked opponents (2-0):
3/1 vs. No. 48 St. Mary's, W 5-2
3/23 vs. No. 19 Incarnate Word, W 7-0
 
Junior College ranked opponents (1-0):
2/1 vs. No. 7 Laredo Community College, W 4-3
 
Globetrotters
The Broncs have seven student-athletes on the roster representing six different countries, including Brazil, Belgium, Greece, India, Indonesia and Sweden.