Men’s Tennis Hosting Two Ranked Conference Foes This Weekend

Saturday, April 1

Memphis, Tenn.

1:00 p.m.

University of Memphis

#38 SMU

Tickets

Andrew Watson and Kai Lemke, 2017 MTennis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Men’s Tennis Hosting Two Ranked Conference Foes This Weekend

Mar 31, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Tigers hosting #38 SMU and #29 Tulane on back-to-back matches this weekend.

By: Tammy DeGroff

MEMPHIS – The University of Memphis men's tennis team (12-5, 1-0 The American) will put its 8-0 home mark on the line against a pair of conference foes this weekend. Memphis hosts number 38 ranked SMU (10-7, 2-0 The American), Saturday, at 1 p.m., then hosts Tulane (13-4, 0-1 American), Sunday, at noon. Both matches will be played at The Racquet Club of Memphis and admission is free. The weekend is a crucial one for the men's team as conference tournament seeding will be on the line with just one regular season weekend remaining after this weekend.

he 2017 American Athletic Conference championships will be hosted by UCF, Apr. 20-23, in Orlando at the new USTA Tennis Center.

About Memphis (12-5, 1-0 The American)

Memphis is looking to bounce back from an 0-2 week in Texas last weekend. The two-match losing streak ties the Tigers' longest losing streak of the season. Memphis has not lost three straight matches since losing five straight against five straight ranked opponents last season.
Memphis is playing its final home matches this weekend, but there will be no need for a Senior Day celebration as the Tigers do not have a senior on this year's roster. The junior class consists of Ryan Peniston, Andrew Watson, Kai Lemke and Shakeel Manji.
Andrew Watson is the lone Tiger entry in last week's ITA rankings. He is ranked number 75 in the latest ITA singles rankings. Watson is 18-7 overall this season, and is 10-2 in dual season play. He is 2-0 at one singles and 8-2 at two singles.
Ryan Peniston and freshman Jan Pallares have won 16 matches apiece so far this season. Peniston is 16-9 on the year and 7-5 in dual season play. All 12 of his matches in dual season play have been at one singles this spring. Pallares has played a bulk of his matches at five singles, where he is 5-3 on the year. He is 7-4 overall in spring play.
Germans Kai Lemke and Chris Patzanovsky are looking to get a 15^th singles win of the season. Lemke is 14-9, including a 6-6 mark at three, while Patzanovsky is 14-9 overall, with an 8-3 record in dual season play. Fellow German Felix Rauch is just behind his countrymen with 13 wins on the year. He is 6-5 at six singles and will face tough conference foes in that spot this weekend.
In doubles play, the pairing of Rauch and Peniston are 11-3 and had a 10-match doubles winning streak at two snapped in a loss at #4 ranked Baylor, 6-4. The pairing is 4-0 against ranked opponents, but has not managed to break in to the nation doubles rankings yet this season.

About SMU (10-7, 2-0 The American)

Yates Johnson leads SMU with 10 spring singles wins. He is 7-0 at six and 1-4 at five singles. His three-match winning streak leads the Mustangs heading in to Saturday's match-up.
Ronald Slobodchikov and Markus Kerner each have eight spring singles wins. Slobodchikov is ranked #55 in the country in the latest ITA singles rankings and teammate Hunter Johnson is ranked #83. Hunter Johnson is 7-6 in spring singles play, including a 6-4 mark at two singles.
The Johnson tandem leads the Mustang doubles lineup. The duo is 7-2 at one doubles so far this spring, including a 3-1 mark against ranked opponents. Those ranked wins have helped that Mustang duo to a number 35 ranking in the ITA.
The Mustangs have some depth in their doubles lineup as well. Tony Russell and Slobodchikov are 6-3 at three doubles and are 7-3 in their last 10 matches.

About Tulane (13-4, 0-1 The American)

Tulane has won six of the last eight matches, but suffered a 5-2 loss on the road at USF in American Athletic Conference action in their last outing.
The Green Wave is 1-3 in true road matches and is a perfect 11-0 at home.
Seniors Sebastian Rey (three singles) and Chi-Shan Jao (six singles) accounted for both Green Wave points in the last match, picking up straight set wins on the road in conference play.
Jao has the Green Wave's longest winning streak, with eight straight wins, improving to 8-1 at six singles for the season.
Constantin Schmitz is the highest ranked singles player in the American Athletic conference and is 20-5 on the season, including a 12-2 mark at number one. Schmitz lost to USF's Sasha Gozun in his last outing, just his second dual season loss this spring. Schmitz is ranked #18 in the latest ITA singles ranking
Six different players for Tulane have 13 or more wins on the season. Schmitz's 20 wins leads the team, followed by Luis Erlenbusch (7-4 at five) and Tyler Schick (10-2 at four) with 17 wins each on the season.
The senior pairing of Rey and Jao is also in the national doubles rankings for Tulane, coming in this week tied for 61^st overall in the ITA.