Tulane University
#21 Texas Tech
Men's Tennis Hosts No. 21 Texas Tech Sunday
Feb 24, 2018 | Men's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - Less than 48 hours since completing a late-night thriller against Mississippi State on Friday evening, the Tulane men's tennis team will host 21st-ranked Texas Tech on Sunday, February 25 at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Tulane (4-3) suffered a 4-3 setback to Mississippi State (6-1) in a match that was initially scheduled for 1 p.m., endured multiple weather delays and did not finish until nearly midnight Central Time at an indoor venue. The Bulldogs barely held on to win the doubles point, and despite the Green Wave scoring a pair of singles upsets, Mississippi State won three singles matches to clinch the match. Freshman Hamish Stewart upset 70th-ranked Strahinja Rakic, 6-1, 7-5, at the No. 3 position in the lineup, while Ewan Moore took down 20th-ranked Giovanni Oradini, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot. Ranked 95th, Tyler Schick closed out his No. 5 singles match with a 6-2, 7-6(6) triumph for the Wave's third team point.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders enter Sunday's match with a 12-3 overall recording, including a 4-0 mark in road contests this spring. Most recently, they defeated Indiana, 5-2, at home on February 17, while their three setbacks have come against No. 21 Florida State, No. 23 Columbia and No. 6 Texas A&M. Matheus Leite leads the team with a 19-9 overall singles mark and a 9-4 dual ledger this spring.
While Texas Tech does not have a singles player listed in the ITA poll, the Red Raiders possess two ranked doubles tandems, including No. 33 Alex Sendegeya and Jackson Cobb, as well as No. 43 Connor Curry and Tommy Mylnikov.
IN THE RANKINGS
In the latest Oracle/ITA team rankings, Tulane ranks No. 30 nationally, which is currently the highest of any American Athletic Conference program. The Green Wave's highest ranking this season was No. 20, matching its 2017 high, which is also their highest under head coach Mark Booras' leadership.
The Wave has two players listed in the singles poll and two doubles teams ranked. Senior and 2017 All-America choice Constantin Schmitz holds the Wave's highest singles ranking at No. 24, followed by junior Tyler Schick at No. 95.
Schick and Erlenbusch, who own an 11-4 overall record and 3-1 mark at the No. 2 position in the doubles lineup this spring, rank 50th nationally as the Wave's only ranked tandem.
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Constantin Schmitz was named the first American Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week for the 2018 spring season on Jan. 23 after a 6-3, 6-2 singles victory over No. 78 Christian Langmo to clinch the match in the Green Wave's 6-1 season-opening victory over Miami (Fla.). The weekly nod was the sixth of Schmitz's career, as he received the honor five times last season in addition to the being named the league's player of the month in October of 2016.
ONE TOUGH SLATE
Tulane increased the intensity of its 2018 spring schedule and will face 10 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season. In addition to American Athletic Conference foes USF, Memphis and SMU, the Green Wave will do battle with California, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Rice, TCU, Texas, and Stanford.
RAISING THE BAR
The Green Wave won 19 dual matches during the 2017 season, the most for the program in the post-Katrina era. The previous best was 16, set in 2016.
Players Mentioned
