EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team opens their 2015 dual match season against the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
Admission is free and fans are welcome to attend.  
 
Last Time Out
The Broncs closed out their fall tournament schedule as junior Hector Ramirez and sophomore Juan Cruz Soria recorded singles victories on the second day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals at Mitchell Tennis Center.
 
Ramirez picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Southern Methodist University's Alec Josepher in the consolation round of 32. In the consolation round of 16, Ramirez fell to UTSA's Diego Casa in straight sets 7-6, 6-4.
 
Soria recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Ricardo Mayagoitia in the consolation round of 32 before falling to UT Arlington's Daniel Armengel 6-7, 6-3, 10-7.
 
Scouting the Retrievers
The Retrievers also open their dual match season on Wednesday. They open the season with three matches on the road. After facing the Broncs, the Retrievers head to Corpus Christi to face the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders for two matches.
 
The Retrievers return junior Justin Carter. Last season, Carter posted a 13-5 record in the No. 1 position with two of his losses coming against ranked opponents. He was named America East Men's Tennis Co-Player of the Year and earned America East First Team honors in singles and second team honors in doubles with teammate Melker Svard.
 
Svard returns for his junior season after winning 14 singles matches and five doubles matches. He also earned America East Second Team honors in doubles and singles while recording a six-match win streak during the season.
 
Former Broncs Rob Hubbard and Oliver Steil coach UMBC. Hubbard enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Retrievers. He played for the Broncs from 1974-78 was a part of the 1978 Broncs' team that finished ranked in the top-10. He was also invited to the NCAA Division I National Singles and Doubles Championships as a junior and senior. Hubbard also coached the Broncs from 2005-08.
 
Steil, in his fifth season with the Retrievers, played with the Broncs from 2003-06. He recorded a 19-13 record during his freshman season and was named MVP of the team in his senior season. He also served as a graduate assistant coach from 2006-09.
 
The Series
The Broncs are 0-1 against the Retrievers all-time in a series that dates back to 2012. The only time these two teams faced each other was at the Orville Cox Tennis Center when the Broncs fell 4-3 on March 23, 2012.
 
Globetrotters
The Broncs have seven student-athletes representing six countries including, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Mexico, Spain and Trinidad and Tobago.
 
Next Up
The Broncs are back in action on Friday at 5 p.m. when they begin a three-match road trip against Rice University in Houston. 

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