CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's tennis team is set to compete in the 53^rdannual H-E-B Tournament of Champions as it opens against UTSA on Friday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
 
The first set of matches will start at 10 a.m. with the second set of matches on Friday scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Saturday will close out the tournament with matches starting at 9 a.m. Some matches will also be played at the H-E-B Tennis Center.
 
UTRGV will play either Louisiana or DePaul depending on the outcome of both matches.
 
53^rdAnnual H-E-B Tournament of Champions

• It's the longest running team tournament in the country and considered one of the most prestigious college tournaments.
• Originally started in 1967 by H-E-B Founder, Howard Butt.
• Eight teams competing in DePaul, Louisiana, New Mexico State, Troy, UTSA, Tennessee Tech, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and UTRGV.

 
Living on the Road

• UTRGV is 2-7 on the season.
• All of its matches have been away from the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
• Two of the matches this season have been neutral site matches with both coming at the Donni Leaycraft Scramble.
• After this weekend's three matches, UTRGV will open up its home portion of its schedule on Feb. 28 vs. Laredo Community College at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.

 
All-Time Series

• UTRGV is 23-32 all-time against UTSA in a series that dates back to 1982
• UTSA won last year's match 5-2 at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. 
• UTRGV last defeated UTSA on Mar. 4, 2016 when it won 4-2 at the H-E-B Tournament of Champions.
• UTRGV is 1-1 all-time against DePaul in a series that dates back to 2009. 
• The last time UTRGV played DePaul was on Mar. 3, 2017 when DePaul won 4-3 at the H-E-B Tournament of Champions.
• UTRGV is 0-11 all-time against Louisiana in a series that dates back to 2001. 
• Louisiana won 4-3 in Lafayette last season.

 
Scouting UTSA

• UTSA is 6-1 on the season
• UTSA is currently on a four-game win streak with wins over Nicholls State, New Orleans, Lamar, and SMU.
• UTSA's only loss this season came against No. 8 Texas.
• UTSA is 27-11 in singles play with Javier Rodriguez leading the way with a 6-1 record. Patrick Poestinger is undefeated with a 4-0 record.
• In doubles, UTSA is 13-4 with Joao Ceolin and Juri Reckow lead the team with a 5-1 record. 

 
Scouting DePaul

• DePaul is 6-4 on the season.
• Is coming off of a 4-2 win over Tennessee Tech on Feb. 17.
• DePaul has wins over Green Bay, Georgetown, Creighton, Illinois-Chicago, Youngstown State, and Tennessee Tech.
• DePaul is 28-29 in singles play with Vito Tonejc leading the way with an 8-2 record
• In doubles, DePaul is 15-11 with Conor O'Meara and Luuk Wassenaar lead the team with a 6-1 record.

 
Scouting Louisiana

• Louisiana is 11-3 on the season.
• Four of those wins came in neutral site matches.
• Is coming off of a 4-0 win over Northern Arizona on Feb. 16.
• Has wins over Nebraska, New Orleans (twice), Alcorn State (three times), Jackson State (twice), Nicholls State, Southern Miss, and Northern Arizona.
• Louisiana is 42-14 in singles play with Jamie Fraser leading the way with a 10-1 record with Arthur Libaud posting a 9-1 record.
• In doubles, Kacper Dworak and Jan Galka lead the team with a 7-1 while the team has posted a 26-6 overall record. 

 
Upcoming Schedule

• Feb. 29 vs. Laredo Community College – 1:30 p.m.
• Mar. 2 @ UTSA – 11 a.m.
• Mar. 3 @ Incarnate Word – 10 a.m.
• Mar. 13 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 2 p.m.
• Mar. 22 vs. Nicholls State – 11 a.m.

 Support UTRGV Men's Tennis | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube