ABILENE - Abilene Christian's sixth-ranked men's tennis team returns to action Wednesday with a 4 p.m. home dual vs. No. 20 Drury that will kick off a challenging week for the Wildcats.
After battling the Panthers at the Eager Tennis Pavilion, ACU will then play host to Tyler College Friday at noon and then travel to Waco for a doubleheader vs. Temple College (10 a.m.) and the 39th-ranked Baylor Bears (6 p.m.).
Baylor (10-7) is the ninth DI opponent ACU will face this season, joining an impressive list that also includes No. 7 Kentucky, No. 20 Texas A&M, and No. 64 Rice. The Bears, who recently upset Kentucky (4-3), are led by 33rd and 82nd-ranked singles players Mate Zsiga and Roberto Maytin.
Maytin also comprises one half of the nation's 46th-ranked doubles combination with Marko Krickovic.
Drury, which represents the Great Lakes Valley Conference, enters Wednesday's match with a 7-2 overall record that includes a 9-0 win over Oral Roberts and 6-3 victory vs. Cameron. The Panthers also have lost to Northwest Missouri State, which ACU defeated 7-2 last Tuesday during its Spring Break trip to Kansas City.
Drury is led in singles and doubles by nationally ranked Andy Blair, who is 8-1 overall, including 7-1 at the No. 1 line. Blair is 7-2 as the doubles partner of Sergio Manzanas.
ACU improved to 12-6 overall and 2-0 within the Lone Star Conference following last week's 4-0 trip to Missouri and Oklahoma. The Wildcats started with three convincing wins in Kansas City over Missouri-Kansas City, No. 42 Northwest Missouri State, and No. 31 Rockhurst before squeaking out a 5-4 victory at No. 18 Cameron.
The Wildcats clinched their dual vs. the Aggies thanks to a three-set win at the No. 5 line from
Michael Morris, who beat Jorge Gerosi, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. The win was Morris' first at the No. 5 spot and raised his spring record to 8-8.
Sixth-ranked player
Hans Hach also had a great week on the road, going 4-0 at the top line and winning three doubles matches alongside veteran
Nick Plum, who equaled Hach's unblemished singles record.
A winner of 10-straight matches, Hach is now 15-2 at No. 1 singles and has proven to be an equally good doubles partner as evidenced by his 15-1 mark this spring.
Plum, meanwhile, has provided tremendous stability to the middle of the order along with Borja Cortes and
Alfredo Desiati, as these three have combined for an overall record of 36-15. Cortes and Plum are each 8-2 over their last 10 matches, while Desiati is 7-3 and in the midst of a five-match winning streak.
