SAN ANTONIO - The Trinity University men's tennis team opened up the Spring 2024 season with a 7-0 loss in an exhibition match at the University of the Incarnate Word on Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers fell behind early as UIW won two of three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point and take a 1-0 advantage. The Cardinals then swept the singles matches to finish the victory, though Trinity took them to a third set in two of those contests. 

Defending ITA Regional Doubles Championsh Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) and Connor Whittington (Lake Oswego, Ore. / Lake Oswego) were defeated at line one doubles to start the day, but Trinity's line two team of Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) scored a 7-5 win to even things up. Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) and Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) took a narrow 7-6 (2) defeat to put Incarnate Word in the lead.

Dhanani and Rafa Candelas (Zacatecas, Mexico / American School) were the only Tigers to win a set in singles play. Dhanani opened with a 7-5 win at line six, but then lost 10-6 in the third-set tiebreaker. Candelas won 6-3 in the second to force a third set, but was defeated 6-2 in the end.

Trinity will face off against Tyler Junior College and Abilene Christian University on Saturday, February 10, to continue its opening week of action. The Tigers take on TJC at 9:00 a.m. in Abilene, followed by a 4:00 p.m. matchup with ACU. Trinity makes its home debut on Friday, February 16, hosting Concordia University (TX) at 3:00 p.m.