OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's tennis team will play three home matches over the weekend. The Mavericks will host Concordia at 6 p.m. Friday and welcome Illinois State on Saturday at 6 p.m. UNO will open Summit League play on Sunday as No. 51 Denver at noon. All matches will be played at the Miracle Hill Tennis Center.
The Omaha Story
The Mavericks enter play this weekend with a 2-1 record. UNO has wins over North Dakota and Doane and a loss at Nebraska. Every player who has competed in a singles match this season for Omaha has at least one win. Junior John Ellis and freshman Alex Woodward lead the way with 2-1 singles records. Junior Colin Buckley is 1-1 at the No. 1 singles spot, while freshman Matt Dunn is 1-2 on the season with his lone win coming at No. 1 singles. Dunn and fellow freshman Brent McKnight at 2-1 at No. 2 doubles this season.
Concordia Series History
Friday's match will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Mavericks and the Bulldogs with Omaha holding a 4-0 advantage. The last meeting between the two programs came on April 11, 2013 in Omaha. UNO topped Concordia, 7-0.
Scouting the Bulldogs
Concordia is 1-0 this spring after defeating Grand View last weekend in Seward, 6-3. CU's projected 2016 lineup is chalk full of freshmen who actually outnumber the group of returning players. The Bulldogs' top player is freshman Willy Pardos, who won his first match of the season 6-0, 6-2. Pardos teamed with countryman Javier Moreno for the win at No. 1 doubles, 8-2. Freshmen Thomas Greef and Gabriel Poling and junior Patricio Esquival each picked up singles wins. Greef and Poling also teamed together at No. 2 doubles for the win.
Illinois State Series History
Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the Mavericks and the Red Birds.
Scouting the Redbirds
Illinois State is 2-0 this season with both wins coming in Bloomington, Ill. The Redbirds topped Green Bay 4-3, before defeating Chicago State 6-1 on Jan. 23. Urh Krajnc Domiter and Jakub Eisner each have played at the top spot this spring for ISU. Domiter is 1-0, while Eisner is 0-1. Christoffer Greve and Dylan Steffens each are 2-0 this season. Illinois State will take on Creighton on Friday evening, before playing Omaha on Saturday.
Denver Series History
The Mavericks trail the all-time series with the Pioneers, 2-0. This is the third straight year UNO has squared off against DU.
Scouting the Pioneers
Denver is 1-1 this season after opening its season at the ITA Kickoff in Columbus, Ohio. DU started the season with a win over No. 51 South Carolina, 4-3. The Pioneers dropped the doubles point, 2-1, but rallied to win four of the six singles matches. The next day, No. 9 Ohio State shut-out Denver, 4-0. The Buckeyes swept the doubles point and completed the sweep with straight set wins at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 singles. The Pioneers moved up one spot in the ITA national rankings to No. 51. Junior Diogo Rocha is Denver's only ranked player, checking in at No. 45 in the latest poll. Rocha is 1-1 on the season at the No. 1 singles spot. The doubles tandem of Henry Craig and Alex Gasson is currently ranked No. 11 in the last rankings released by the ITA. Craig and Gasson are 0-2 on the season at the top doubles spot. Denver will play two matches in Lincoln, Neb. before coming to Omaha. The Pioneers open the weekend with a Friday match-up with Nebraska, before playing No. 49 Oregon on Saturday.
Up Next
The Mavericks wrap-up a five match homestand next weekend against UMKC. The Kangaroos visit the Miracle Hill Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 6. First serve is set for 4 p.m.
