EDINBURG – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team will face off against the No. 8 Laredo Community College Palominos on Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
The Palominos are ranked eighth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I junior/community college rankings.
 
Admission is free and the public is welcomed to attend.
 
Last Time Out
The Broncs closed out their weekend with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Kangaroos on Sunday.
 
The Broncs (6-10) opened doubles with a loss on court one but bounced back with a win on court 3 as the team of Elliot Johnstone and Miguel Alvarez-Hevia defeated Conner Edwards and Amaury Navette 8-4. The Kangaroos (8-10) clinched the doubles point with a win on court two.
 
In singles, UMKC started off with a win on court six but the Broncs battled back with a win on court one. Juan Cruz Soria defeated Airam Castellano in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 as he finished the weekend with a 3-0 singles record.
 
After playing at No. 3 singles on the first two days, Koby Jansen found himself playing at No. 2 on Sunday and he delivered for the Broncs. Jansen tied the match with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Andrey Smirnov.
 
The Broncs took the lead after Ethan Ammon picked up his first singles win of the weekend after he defeated Conner Edwards 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.
 
After the Kangaroos picked up a point with a win on court four, it all came down to court three where Alvarez-Hevia dropped his first set to Vinh Pham 3-6. He then bounced back to win the second set 6-3 and followed with a 6-4 win in the third to clinch the point and the match for the Broncs.
 
Soria Does It Again
For the fourth time this season, a Bronc has been named WAC Athlete of the Week. Juan Cruz Soria earned his second honor of the season and the third of his career.
 
Soria went 3-0 in singles competition over the weekend while playing all his matches at the No. 1 position. He defeated Grand Canyon's Felix Schueller 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on Friday to help the Broncs clinch the match over the Antelopes. Soria followed that with a win over New Mexico State's Strahinja Trecakov in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. He closed out the weekend with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kansas City's Airam Castellano for his seventh win of the spring and has now won four straight matches.
 
In doubles, Soria teamed with Koby Jansen to beat New Mexico State's Paul Denele and Thomas Douglas 8-2 for their sixth win of the season.
 
Koby Jansen earned the honor on February 24, Soria was named athlete of the week on March 3 and Hector Ramirez earned the honor on March 24.
 
Scouting the Palominos
The Palominos are 1-6 on the season with their lone win of the year coming against Our Lady of the Lake on March 27,which was their only home match of the season.
 
The Palominos are coming off a 1-8 loss to Midwestern University on Saturday.
 
The Series
The Broncs are 25-6 all-time against the Palominos in a series that dates back to 1982. Both of these teams met last season with the Palominos coming away with the 4-3 victory in Laredo.
 
The last time the Broncs defeated the Palominos was on February 1, 2013 as they defeated Laredo Community College 4-3 at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
Globetrotters
The Broncs have seven student-athletes representing six countries including, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Mexico, Spain and Trinidad and Tobago.
 
Next Up
The Broncs close out their home schedule on Friday when they host the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners at 2 p.m. at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.