Men's Tennis preview: Arkansas, UTSA, UT-Arlington
WHAT: No. 7 Texas hits the road this week to meet Arkansas before returning home to take on Texas-San Antonio and Texas-Arlington in a day-night doubleheader. WHERE: Arkansas match - Dills Indoor Tennis Center, Fayetteville, Ark. WHEN: Arkansas - Friday, Feb. 1 - 6:30 p.m. LAST MEETING WITH ARKANSAS: Texas defeated Arkansas by a 6-1 count on March 7, 2007 in Austin. UT holds a 14-12 lead in the overall series. LAST MEETING WITH TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO: The Longhorns defeated the Roadrunners by a 7-0 count on March 22, 2006 in Austin. Texas has not lost to UTSA in 13 meetings. LAST MEETING WITH TEXAS-ARLINGTON: Texas defeated Texas-Arlington by a 7-0 margin on March 3, 2006 in Austin. Texas has won both meetings against Texas-Arlington. ITA RANKINGS UPDATE: Texas is ranked No. 7 in the Jan. 29 release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team rankings. UT opened the season at No. 7, marking the highest preseason rank in coach Michael Center's eight-year tenure at Texas. Freshman Kellen Damico opens at No. 24 in the ITA singles rankings, while freshman Ed Corrie ranks 52nd. Sophomore All-Big 12 standout Dimitar Kutrovsky ranks 53rd, and sophomore Jon Wiegand has made his ITA singles rankings debut at No. 100. Damico and senior Luis Diaz Barriga hold the No. 12 doubles ranking after winning the ITA South Central Regional Championship. Corrie and senior Hubert Chodkiewicz rank 13th in the ITA doubles rankings. THE 2008 LONGHORNS: Under head coach Michael Center, the 2007 USPTA National College Coach of the Year, Texas returns all 10 letterwinners from the 2007 squad that registered a 20-9 record and reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Championship. Texas reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship for a second consecutive season after defeating Texas Tech and upsetting Oklahoma State in the opening rounds. Newcomers Kellen Damico and Ed Corrie have excelled early on in their Longhorn careers, as the duo boasts a collective 30-10 singles record. Damico won singles titles at the HEB Baylor Fall Invitational and the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in his first semester, and Corrie claimed the Texas Invitational in November. Texas has earned its second consecutive invitation to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle. The Longhorns will join 15 teams at the four-day event, which runs Feb. 15-18 at the University of Washington's Nordstrom Tennis Center.
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