SAN ANTONIO – The 13th-ranked Trinity men's tennis team will embark on one its toughest tests of the regular season by competing in the 2023 Stag-Hen Invitational, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at the Bizantz Tennis Center.

The Tigers are 5-2 to open the season, which indlues an undefeated 5-0 record against NCAA III opponents. Trinity defeated Concordia University (Texas) 7-2 at home, then swept Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents Texas Lutheran University and University of St. Thomas the next weekend. After a loss at the hands of UT-Arlington, Trinity rebounded with a decisive 8-1 road win over UT-Dallas. Last weekend was a 7-2 win over Hardin-Simmons in which the team fell behind in doubles, but swept all six singles to earn the team win.

Dalton Locke (Humble, Texas / Kingwood) has begun the year with a 4-0 dual-match record, while Rafa Candelas Ruiz (Zacatecas, Mexico / American School (Spain)) has notched a 5-1 record to lead the Tigers in singles victories so far this year. Locke and Rob Chang (Aiea, Hawaii / 'Iolani School) are also unbeaten in doubles dual play this season with a 4-0 record. Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep (Fla.)) and Candelas Ruiz have posted a 4-1 record so far this season.

Veterans Alessio Azzalini (Rome, Italy / Istituto Paritario G. Visconti) and Hao Nguyen (Sugar Land, Texas / Strake Jesuit) will feature big in the team's success as well. Nguyen has 35 singles wins in his career with the Tigers, while Azzalini has posted 26 singles victories in his career. Both Tiger players have won each of their last two singles matches heading into the weekend.

Preview: Stag-Hen Tournament (Mar. 10-11)
The Tigers enter the tournament as the fourth seed behind hosting Claremont, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, and Emory University. The trio are all ranked in the top 10 nationally. The bottom half of the tournament includes 17th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College, No. 22 Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, No. 24 George Fox University, and No. 28 Swarthmore College.

Trinity will open the tournament against No. 17 Gustavus on Friday morning to open up its part in the tournament, then win or lose, the Tigers will be back in action later that afternoon against either Claremont or George Fox. The winners and losers of each of the matches will face off against each other to determine the opponents for the second day of action.  

Looking Ahead: Top-Ranked Chicago (Mar. 16) and NCAA I Incarnate Word (Mar. 18)
Trinity will return home next week to host the defending NCAA III National Champion and No. 1 University of Chicago at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The Tigers will also play neighboring University of the Incarnate Word "on the road" on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.