No 11. Tiger Men's Tennis Set for a Packed week of Matches
 
The No. 11 Tiger Men's tennis team fell 3-4 to No. 26 Carnegie Mellon in a nailbiter at Butch Newman Tennis Center on Wednesday evening. With this defeat, the Tigers moved to 9-2 on the season. 
 
Last Time
 
It was a bright start to the evening for the Tigers as they carried their doubles dominance from the weekend into today's matchup, winning all three of their matches and snatching the doubles point. First to finish was the consistent duo of Rocco Mendez (Las Vegas, Nev. / Odyssey Charter School) and Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / West) at #1, who swept their opponent with ease, winning 6-3. Next to finish was the powerful partnership of Conor Kaczmarczyk (Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) and Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) at #3, who comfortably won 6-2, claiming the doubles point for the Tigers. The final match at #2 was the closest of all, as the returning Eric Liao (Taipei, Taiwan / Boca Prep) and the ever-present Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) were taken all the way to a tiebreak, eventually winning 7-6 (7-4). 
 
The singles action swung back and forth all evening, proving to be a much closer affair than anticipated after the Tigers' dominance in the doubles. First up was Roshin Kamath (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) at #4, who didn't hit his usual game today and unfortunately lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, equalizing the score for the Tartans. The passionate Mendez at #3 quickly avenged his freshman counterpart in confident style, defeating his opponent 6-3, 6-2, and giving Trinity a deserved lead. Unfortunately, the next freshman up, Ryan Warren (Keller, Texas / Connection Academy) at #2, couldn't repeat Mendez's singles dominance and fell once again in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Next to finish was Dhanani at #6, who was taken right to the wire in both sets, but showed his steely nerve and composure, to win 7-5, 7-5. This gave the Tigers a vital 3-2 lead and meant they only needed a win from Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) at #1 or Kersten at #5, to bring the match home for the Tigers. Perry looked to be on course for the point, as he won the first set 6-4, however, things took a turn for the worse and he lost the following two 6-2, 6-3, to draw the match level for the Tartans. All eyes then turned to the fierce contest at #5, as the battle for the match winner raged on. Kersten showed extreme fight as he clawed his way back from a first-set 6-4 loss to win the second 6-4. However, he couldn't quite get it across the line and painfully fell at the last hurdle losing the third set 6-2, in turn handing the point and the win to the visiting Tartans.
 
Preview - All Tennis, All the Time
 
The Tigers prepare for a busy week of tennis as they host Occidental College on March 11, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Division 1) in a doubleheader on March 12. The Tigers will then make the trip out to California to face Johns Hopkins on march 21 in the first round of the stag-hen invitational. 
 
On the Occidental College Tigers: The Tigers are 3-3 this year with wins against William Jessup University 7-0 (NAIA), Riverside City College (JUCO), and Stanton University 6-1 (NAIA). The Tigers have suffered three defeats this season, losing to Brandeis 2-5, the University of California Santa Cruz 3-4, and Hope International University 3-6 (NAIA). The Tigers will look to senior Brett Miller to get on the board. This spring, Miller is 3-1 in singles and 5-1 in doubles, with his most notable victory coming against Brandeis University in a 3-set tiebreaker 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. Trinity and Occidental have never faced off before, making this match a historic first meeting for the two programs. The Occidental Tigers will hope to get their first win of the season against a Division 3 opponent while the Trinity Tigers will look to bounce back after the midweek defeat as the two are set to face off at Butch Newman Tennis Center on Tuesday March 11 at 2:30 p.m. May the best Tiger win. 
 
On the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders: The Islanders are 8-4 this spring with notable wins against Oral Roberts 4-0  (Division 1) and University of Texas Rio Grande 4-3 (Division 1). The Islanders have also swept Alcorn State (Division 1) twice and Prairie View A&M (Division 1) three times. Their three losses have come at the hands of the University of Louisiana 2-4 (Division 1), SMU 0-4 (Division 1), the University of Texas Arlington 0-4 (Division 1), and Rice 0-4 (Division 1). The Islanders will look to the senior Nathan Favier to lead the way. This spring, Favier has recorded a 1-4 record in singles with three unfinished matches in which he was trailing in each match. His lone victory was a two set 6-2, 6-4 victory against Prairie View A&M (Division 1). Favier has competed at Line 1 in every match this season. Last time out, the Islanders defeated the Tigers 7-0. Trinity and Texas A&M Corpus Christi have faced off eight times before, with Texas A&M Corpus Christi holding an 8-0 record against the Tigers. The Tigers will look to test themselves against Division 1 opposition as the Islanders come to town to play a doubleheader on Wednesday March 12 at Butch Newman Tennis Center. 
 
On the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are 1-2 this spring, with their sole win coming in a sweep against No. 27 Mary Washington. The Blue Jays' two losses came in a sweep against Bucknell University (Division 1) and a 3-6 loss against No. 2 University of Chicago. The Blue Jays will look to Daniel Ardila to lead the charge. This season Ardila has recorded a 2-1 record in singles and a 2-1 record in doubles. Ardila's most notable singles victories are a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win via tiebreaker in singles against No. 27 Mary Washington and a three-set victory 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 against No. 2 University of Chicago. He was also part of a pair that defeated Bucknell 6-4 in doubles. Last time out, Trinity defeated Johns Hopkins 6-3 in the 2014-2015 season. The Tigers' all-time record against Johns Hopkins stands at a perfect 2-0. The Tigers will look to stay undefeated against the battle tested Blue Jays as they are set to face off in round one at the Stag-hen Invitational. 
 
Looking Ahead:
 
The Tigers will host Pacific on Wednesday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m. at Butch Newman Tennis Center.