HOUSTON, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis team will look to fight back into the win column when they take on Rice Thursday at 11 a.m. at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
The Islanders (8-3) will be going up against their second ranked opponent in their last three matches, with Rice checking in at No. 65 in the most recent ITA Rankings. They recently took on SMU before also playing at UT-Arlington for a tough road swing.
"This is another big opportunity for our guys against a tough ranked team!" said head coach
Steve Moore. "We have a lot of respect for Rice, and this has been such a long, respectful rivalry. I am so impressed with our team and how hard they are working and improving! This team just keeps getting better and better, and their team unity and brotherhood is as good as anyone in the nation! We always approach every match the same way: play each point with intensity and compete like warriors, and that is what we will do tomorrow."
The Islanders are looking to get back into the successful rhythm of how they started the season, going undefeated through their first eight matches.
Omar Suarez and
Nicholas Niox Chateau have paralleled each other in success, tying as team leads with five singles wins each on the year.
The Islanders have also won eight of their doubles points, with
Matthieu Coignet and
Josef Zapletal teaming up mainly at No. 3 doubles to post a team-high seven wins. Suarez has paired with three different partners, and posts the best individual doubles record on the year at 8-1.
The Islanders will be going for their first ever win over the Owls. It is the first time in two years that the teams will go head-to-head.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 17 NCAA Tournaments
- 35 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 43 Straight Semesters
- Islanders have received a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Tournament three times
- Women's tennis has cracked the ITA top-75 national rankings three times
- Men's tennis has cracked the ITA national rankings 10 consecutive years
- Ranked nationally in NCAA DI as high as No. 35 for the men and No. 60 for the women
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