CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis team will once again play host to the prestigious H-E-B Tournament of Champions in its 62
nd year when they welcome New Mexico State and Louisiana to the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center this weekend.
The Islanders will face New Mexico State Friday at 9 a.m. and Louisiana Sunday at 10 a.m. The Aggies and the Ragin Cajuns will face each other in a neutral matchup Saturday at 9 a.m.
The H-E-B Tournament of Champions was started by H-E-B founder Howard E. Butt in 1964 and is the oldest college team tournament in America at 62 years. It outdates the NCAA championships which wasn't a team tournament yet as the H-E-B Tournament of Champions became the first big college team tournament in the country.
Islanders Tennis began running this prestigious event in 2006 and has kept it in Corpus Christi, the hometown of Howard E. Butt, for the past 20 years.
"The H-E-B Tournament of Champions is one of the grand events in the history of the Corpus Christi community!" said head coach
Steve Moore. "H-E-B has been a title sponsor for 62 years; when you talk about supporting the community with action, that has been H-E-B for that long! This event has inspired thousands of young people in the Corpus Christi community, and it is an honor to run this grand event!"
The Islanders are taking a 10-1 record into the weekend, with their sole loss only being to #7 Texas in Austin. This week saw the team earn that 10
th victory with a 4-0 sweep over Oral Roberts.
Nicholas Niox Chateau was tabbed the SLC Player of the Week following Monday's decision, taking into account the team's win over UTRGV last week where he won at No. 1 singles in the rivalry. He has four singles wins from that top position this season, with a 5-1 overall record.
Josef Zapletal has emerged as the team leader with a 9-0 singles record mainly from courts five and six. They have all come in straight set victories. Right behind him are
Mikel Garmendia and
Etienne Marty with seven wins each.
In doubles play, the No. 1 spot has been unbeaten with a 9-0 record across three different pairs. Majority has come from the pairing of Garmendia and
Matthieu Coignet with a 6-0 mark, the same pair that won the SLC Fall Doubles Championship and had a semifinals finish at ITA Regionals with wins over #1 Baylor, #8 Texas A&M, and #9 TCU.
The Islanders lead New Mexico State 6-5 in the all-time series and trail Louisiana slimly at 13-11.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 17 NCAA Tournaments
- 37 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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