LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech Red Raiders will travel to Orlando, Fla., and Fort Worth, Texas over the weekend to open Big 12 play, beginning with the No. 10 UCF Knights on Friday at 5 p.m. CT and then against the No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Texas Tech (9-5) split a pair of close matches in California, defeating UNCW 4-3 before falling 3-4 to No. 30 UC Santa Barbara. Against the Seahawks, the Red Raiders secured the win with key singles victories from Niksa Arsic, Felipe Pagnacco and Thiago Guglieri before Sebastian Abboud clinched the match in three sets. Tech battled again in Santa Barbara, with Arsic, Pagnacco and Tyler Stewart earning singles wins, but the Gauchos held on after claiming the doubles point to hand the Red Raiders a slim loss.
No. 10 UCF (14-2) enters the matchup as one of the top teams in the country. Texas Tech is 2-3 all-time against the Knights, with the Red Raiders’ most recent win coming on the road against then-No. 33 UCF. The Knights feature two ranked singles players in No. 74 Wissam Abderrahman and No. 83 Yassine Dlimi, both of whom are players to watch out for during this match.
Texas Tech will also face No. 5 TCU (10-4), a long-time rival and one of the nation’s strongest programs. TCU brings a deep lineup with four ranked singles players: No. 9 Duncan Chan, No. 36 Cosme Rolland De Ravel, No. 41 Cooper Woestendick and No. 66 Julian Alonso Vivanco. The Horned Frogs also feature three ranked doubles teams: No. 8 Rolland De Ravel/Chan, No. 16 Albert Pedrico Kravtsov/Rolland De Ravel and No. 76 Woestendick/Oliver Bonding.
Live stats and live video will be available at both matches. Fans can also follow along with live updates from the Texas Tech Men’s Tennis X account.
In the ITA Rankings
Teams
No. 5 TCU
No. 10 UCF
Singles
No. 9 Duncan Chan (TCU)
No. 36 Cosme Rolland De Ravel (TCU)
No. 41 Cooper Woestendick (TCU)
No. 66 Julian Alonso Vivanco (TCU)
No. 74 Wissam Abderrahman (UCF)
No. 83 Yassine Dlimi (UCF)
Doubles
No. 8 Cosme Rolland De Ravel/Duncan Chan (TCU)
No. 16 Albert Pedrico Kravtsov/Cosma Rolland De Ravel (TCU)
No 76 Cooper Woestendick/Oliver Bonding (TCU)
Texas Tech Men’s Tennis
19 NCAA Tournament Appearances
10 NCAA Singles Championship Participants
13 NCAA Doubles Championship Participants
Seven All-Americans
2016 Big 12 Champions
53 Academic All-Big 12 Selections
Career-high ITA End of Year Team Ranking of No. 11
Eight Top-25 ITA End of Year Team Rankings