Saturday, January 28
Lubbock, Texas
12:00 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
Iowa
Men's Tennis Readies for ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 27, 2017 | Men's Tennis
The Red Raiders return to campus and the McLeod Tennis Center this weekend.
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's tennis team heads into the ninth-annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend but will be hosting the event for the first time in program history at the McLeod Tennis Center this weekend.
The weekend's event features 15 regional site on the men's and women's side with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to next month's ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships.
Virginia (men's) and Yale (women's) will serve as hosts for the ITA National Team Indoors and received automatic invitations to the event and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
The Texas Tech women also are hosting matches at the McLeod Tennis Center this weekend and admission is free to all matches.
Host sites for ITA Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. A draft was held to fill the No.'s 2-4 seeds at all locations, again using the final national team rankings as a guide to determine draft order.
"I think we are starting to build up to where we're capable of," Texas Tech Brett Masi said. "It's still pretty early to say that. When we were in Orlando, I only got one week with them before we played those first two matches … I think our guys played really well. Hopefully, it gave us some confidence going into this weekend."
The Red Raiders (2-1) will square off against Iowa at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday. Tech will then meet either No. 20 Mississippi State or Florida State during Sunday's action. Both the consolation and championship match have a first serve slated for 12 noon CT Sunday.
Texas Tech has played a trio of matches with No. 25 Jolan Cailleau filling the top spot in singles in each contest and has posted a 2-1 mark. Alex Sendegeya is undefeated at the No. 3 slot, while No. 104 Connor Curry is 1-1 in the No. 2 position and 1-0 at No. 3.
Rounding out the Red Raiders' ranked singles is No. 120 Ronit Bisht, who has filled the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the order. He has gone a combined 2-1 record as well.
"I think it's easy to say Jolan has done a great job," Masi said. "Moving from playing fourth last year to playing the top spot and putting himself in that spotlight of a Top 25 player in the country ... I think Connor Curry, as well, is another great player. He really is one of the best athletes I've ever seen on the tennis court. He could be one of the top three athletes in this school."
Texas Tech has captured the doubles point in all three matches and dropped just one decision all year. The No. 60 ranked team of Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson has been the top pair and has secure a 2-1 record with the only loss a 6-2 setback to No. 27 Mariano Porter and Harrison Richmond of UCF. Curry and Carlos DiLaura are 3-0 at No. 2 whereas Bisht has paired with Pyry Hyrkkonen to go 3-0 at No. 3.
Florida State features two ranked singles players with No. 59 Guy Iradukunda and No. 71 Aziz Dougaz while Mississippi State showcases No. 6 Nuno Borges. The Bulldogs also have one ranked doubles duo with Trevor Foshey and Niclas Braun.
"What we are playing for is exciting," Masi said. "These guys know that the winner gets to go to the National Indoors. We went last year, and we knew how special it was. I think that will play with their mind and help motivate them. We want to get back there, and we want to get to that spot again."
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's tennis program. Fans also can follow the program and live match updates on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TechMensTennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
2017 ITA Kickoff Weekend – McLeod Tennis Center
Saturday, January 28 -- All Times Central
12 p.m. – Florida State vs. No. 20 Mississippi State
12 p.m. – Texas Tech vs. Iowa
Sunday, January 29 -- All Times Central
12 p.m. – Consolation match
12 p.m. – Championship match
The weekend's event features 15 regional site on the men's and women's side with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to next month's ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships.
Virginia (men's) and Yale (women's) will serve as hosts for the ITA National Team Indoors and received automatic invitations to the event and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
The Texas Tech women also are hosting matches at the McLeod Tennis Center this weekend and admission is free to all matches.
Host sites for ITA Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. A draft was held to fill the No.'s 2-4 seeds at all locations, again using the final national team rankings as a guide to determine draft order.
"I think we are starting to build up to where we're capable of," Texas Tech Brett Masi said. "It's still pretty early to say that. When we were in Orlando, I only got one week with them before we played those first two matches … I think our guys played really well. Hopefully, it gave us some confidence going into this weekend."
The Red Raiders (2-1) will square off against Iowa at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday. Tech will then meet either No. 20 Mississippi State or Florida State during Sunday's action. Both the consolation and championship match have a first serve slated for 12 noon CT Sunday.
Texas Tech has played a trio of matches with No. 25 Jolan Cailleau filling the top spot in singles in each contest and has posted a 2-1 mark. Alex Sendegeya is undefeated at the No. 3 slot, while No. 104 Connor Curry is 1-1 in the No. 2 position and 1-0 at No. 3.
Rounding out the Red Raiders' ranked singles is No. 120 Ronit Bisht, who has filled the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the order. He has gone a combined 2-1 record as well.
"I think it's easy to say Jolan has done a great job," Masi said. "Moving from playing fourth last year to playing the top spot and putting himself in that spotlight of a Top 25 player in the country ... I think Connor Curry, as well, is another great player. He really is one of the best athletes I've ever seen on the tennis court. He could be one of the top three athletes in this school."
Texas Tech has captured the doubles point in all three matches and dropped just one decision all year. The No. 60 ranked team of Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson has been the top pair and has secure a 2-1 record with the only loss a 6-2 setback to No. 27 Mariano Porter and Harrison Richmond of UCF. Curry and Carlos DiLaura are 3-0 at No. 2 whereas Bisht has paired with Pyry Hyrkkonen to go 3-0 at No. 3.
Florida State features two ranked singles players with No. 59 Guy Iradukunda and No. 71 Aziz Dougaz while Mississippi State showcases No. 6 Nuno Borges. The Bulldogs also have one ranked doubles duo with Trevor Foshey and Niclas Braun.
"What we are playing for is exciting," Masi said. "These guys know that the winner gets to go to the National Indoors. We went last year, and we knew how special it was. I think that will play with their mind and help motivate them. We want to get back there, and we want to get to that spot again."
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's tennis program. Fans also can follow the program and live match updates on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TechMensTennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
2017 ITA Kickoff Weekend – McLeod Tennis Center
Saturday, January 28 -- All Times Central
12 p.m. – Florida State vs. No. 20 Mississippi State
12 p.m. – Texas Tech vs. Iowa
Sunday, January 29 -- All Times Central
12 p.m. – Consolation match
12 p.m. – Championship match
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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