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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's tennis (3-1, 0-0 MW) travels to Austin, Texas, this weekend to participate in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. USU will first face Miami (FL) (3-0) on Friday at 1 p.m. (MT), for the first time in program history. Texas (2-0), who is currently ranked No. 8 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and Washington (1-0) will matchup at 1 p.m. (MT). The outcome of Friday's matches will determine Saturday's matchups as the winners will face each other.
There are 60 teams participating in 15 locations across the country. The winner of each site's single-elimination event advances to the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships next month. Last season, the Aggies advanced to the ITA Kick-off Weekend title game after they defeated UCF, 4-2, but lost to No. 16 Texas, 6-1.
"This weekend will be a great opportunity for our guys and I think they are eager to compete against some of the top teams in the country," said head coach James Wilson. "I feel like we are making progress and improving certain aspects. We know that Miami (FL) has a lot of very strong players, but we are excited for the challenge."
Utah State returns to the courts after a 5-2 loss at San Diego and a 5-2 win at UC Irvine. During the dual match season, the Aggies are led in singles by junior Duro Opacic, who is 4-0. Sophomores Felipe Acosta and Jose Carvajal, and freshman Isaac Arevalo Gómez each have a 3-1 singles record, while junior Sergiu Bucur and freshman Rithvik Bollipalli are 2-2. In doubles, Bucur and Bollipalli are 2-1, Carvajal and Arevalo Gómez are 2-1, and Opacic and Acosta are 2-2. Acosta's 4-0 mark in singles and doubles against Weber State and Idaho State earned him Mountain West Men's Tennis Player of the Week honors for matches played through Tuesday, Jan. 15.
"Isaac (Arturo Gómez) has worked really hard this year and has improved his overall game," said Wilson. "Playing the top spot is never easy, especially as a freshman, but he's mature for his age. I'm excited to see how he does against one of the best players in the country (sophomore Adria Soriano Barrera)."
Miami (FL) is undefeated so far this dual match season, defeating all three opponents with 7-0, 6-1 and 6-1 scores. The Hurricanes have three players ranked in singles by the ITA in No. 21 Barrera, No. 35 sophomore Bojan Jankulovski and No. 97 freshman Francisco Bastias. In singles, the trio of Jankulovski, redshirt junior Dane Dunlap and freshman Franco Aubone are 3-0, freshman Barrera is 2-1, sophomore Tatsuki Shimamoto is 2-1 and freshman Kaya Gore is 1-1. In doubles, Bastias and Jankulovski are 2-0, Gore and Aubone are 2-1, two pairs of Hurricanes are 1-0 and Barrera and Dunlap are 0-1.
Texas opened the dual match season with a 7-0 win against Ole Miss and a 6-1 home win against SMU. The Longhorns have three players ranked in singles by the ITA in No. 4 junior Christian Sigsgaard, No. 18 junior Yuya Ito and No. 103 freshman Chih Chi Huang. A quartet of Longhorns have started the dual match season 2-0 in singles, while, three doubles tandems have gone a combined 4-0 in doubles play.
Washington started their season with a 6-1 win against Portland, securing the doubles point and winning five of out the six singles matches. Last season, the Huskies were led by sophomore Jack Davis, who went 19-8 in singles action during his freshman campaign.
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.
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