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EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP tennis team (1-2) will return to action for three matches in as many days in Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend.
The Miners will have neutral-site matchups with Weber State (11 a.m. MT Friday) and Youngstown State (11 a.m. MT Sunday), in addition to a true road contest at UNLV (11 a.m. MT Saturday).
"We are very excited to be competing again," UTEP head coach
Ivan Fernandez said. "The three matches this weekend in Las Vegas will certainly test us. We look forward to improving with every match. The team has been working extremely hard and as long as they keep doing their best, I know the results will eventually come our way."
After consecutive weekends with weather impacting the competition, UTEP will be hoping for better cooperation from Mother Nature in addition to a few more breaks on the court. During the Miners' mini two-match skid, there have been three singles matches that have gone to super tiebreakers (1-2 record) and both doubles contests lost were by the score of 6-4.
Overall in the spring the Orange and Blue have a combined 10-11 mark in singles (7-9) and doubles play (3-2), with freshman
Rine Nozaki (2-1) posting the top record in singles. The freshmen tandem of
Kirsten Prelle and
Kathleen Percegona have yet to taste defeat. The duo won its opener against WNMU while the match-up with Lucia Natal and Nanaka Takeuchi of UTA (2/1/19) was knotted, 5-5, when it was halted. There was no doubles point contested at North Texas (2/2/19) due to rain shortening the match and moving it indoors.
Youngstown State enters this weekend at 2-3 on the season, including a 7-0 win at Dayton (2/3/19) last time out. The Penguins, though, will be without their No. 1 player, Imaan Hassim, who is playing for her native South Africa at the FedCup in Luxembourg this week.
UNLV lost its season opener at Pepperdine (1/26), 4-0, but has gone 2-1 since to enter this weekend at 2-2 on the year. The Rebels dispatched Oregon (1/27), 4-2, at home and most recently bested Lamar (2/2), 6-1, on the road.
Weber State is also 2-2 on the campaign, boasting a 4-3 road victory against Boise State (1/25) and a 4-0 home vanquishing of Lewis-Clark State (1/25).
