No. 11 Tiger Men's Tennis prepares For Sunday Doubleheader
 
Last Time
 
The match began with the Tigers scoring wins at the top two lines, claiming the doubles point. The reliable #1 duo of Rocco Mendez (Las Vegas, Nevada / Odyssey Charter School) and Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / Plano West) played a close match and won 7-5, with Mendez clutching up with a tally of big serves to win the final game. It was then left up to the #2 partnership of Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) to bring home the doubles point. The match was a tight contest that swung back and forth, but there was only ever one winner. This duo showed their fight and fought back from 3-4 down to win 6-4. This won the doubles point for Trinity and allowed for the #3 match featuring Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colorado / Regis Jesuit) and Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) to be cut short at 5-5, keeping the slate clean for the Tigers.
 
The singles matches started swiftly. The Tigers got off to a rough start as first to finish were #2, #3, and #6 which all produced agonizingly close contests that resulted in losses. This put the Tigers 3-1 down at this point in the match. Jared Perry (Tucson, Arizona / Catalina Foothills) at #1 battled his way through three close sets, winning 6-4 and 6-3 in the 1st and 3rd set, to clinch the second point of the match for the Tigers. Next to finish was Kersten at #4, who after losing the first set 7-5, crawled his way back and dominated the next two sets, winning them 6-1 and 6-4, and equalizing the match at 3-3. This left the results in the hands of Liao at #5. Liao battled hard after splitting the first two sets to win the third set 8-6 in a tiebreak.This handed the Tigers a memorable 4-3 comeback win, capping off their ITA Indoor National Championships campaign on a high. 
 
SCAC Doubles Team Of The Week - Rocco Mendez and Kishan Kersten of Trinity University 
 
For the third time in each of their careers, First-Year Rocco Mendez (3-time Doubles 2025) & Sophomore Kishan Kersten (3-time Doubles 2025) have won SCAC Doubles Team Of The Week. This is the third time in the first four weeks of action this spring that the duo of Mendez and Kersten have been selected for the SCAC Men's Doubles team of the Week. They are having an historic start to life at Trinity and show no signs of stopping. 
 
From the SCAC Press Release: 
 
Mendez, a first-year from Las Vegas, Nev., and Kersten, a sophomore from Plano, Texas, went 2-1 at line one during the ITA Indoor National Championships over the weekend as the Tigers finished seventh at the tournament. The Tiger duo won at line one against #2 Claremont and #16 Gustavus over the weekend, helping Trinity to the doubles win in two of the three matches. 
 
SCAC Singles Player Of The Week - Ryan Warren
 
For the first time in his career, First-Year Ryan Warren has won SCAC Player Of The Week.
 
From the SCAC Press Release: 
 
Warren went 2-1 in singles play over the weekend as the 11th-ranked Tigers finished seventh at the ITA Indoor National Championships. Warren earned Trinity's only point with a win at line two against #2 Claremont, then also picked up a win in the match against #9 Swarthmore.
 
Preview - Continuing the Momentum 
 
The Tigers look to remain perfect at home this season as they host McMurry and East Texas Baptist University on Sunday March 2nd at 10A.M. (McMurry) and 1P.M. (ETBU) at Butch Newman Tennis Center. 
 
On the McMurry War Hawks: The War Hawks are 0-3 so far this year with losses against Texas A&M Texarkana 0-9 (NAIA), Weatherford college 0-9 (NJCAA), and UMHB 0-7. Last season, the War Hawks finished with a 6-9 record, however they did not qualify for the American Southwest conference tournament. The War Hawks will look to sophomore Mason Bagwell to lead the way. Bagwell has competed on line one in all three outings this season for the War Hawks. Last time out, Trinity defeated the War Hawks 9-0 in the 2021-2022 season. The Tiger's record against McMurry stands at a perfect 11-0 since 2009. McMurry will be up against the odds in San Antonio on Sunday. 
 
On the East Texas Baptist Tigers: The Tigers are 1-0 so far this season with a 6-3 win against Texas Wesleyan (NAIA). The Tigers concluded their 2024 campaign with a 15-6 record, where they saw themselves qualify for the American Southwest Conference tournament. They were the first seed coming into the 2024 ASC tournament, receiving a bye in the quarterfinal round. They won in the semi-final round against Hardin-Simmons 5-3 before losing to Concordia 1-5 in the championship match. The Tigers will look to the newcomer Jaco Snyman to put points on the board. Snyman won his opening match of the 2025 spring season 6-2, 6-4 on line two against Texas Wesleyan (NAIA). Last time out, Trinity defeated East Texas Baptist 9-0 in the 2021-2022 season. The Tiger's all-time record against East Texas Baptist stands at a perfect 4-0, with all four matches ending in 9-0 sweeps for the Trinity Tigers. ETBU will hope that history doesn't repeat itself when they come to town on Sunday. 
 
Looking Ahead 
 
The Tigers will host No. 20 Carnegie Mellon on Wednesday, March 5, at 5 P.M. at Butch Newman Tennis Center.