ABILENE – The nationally 11th-ranked Abilene Christian men's tennis team hits the road this weekend for five matches spread across Kentucky and Tennessee, four of which are against NCAA Division I opponents.
The Wildcats first match, however, is against No. 37 Southern Indiana (1-0), which went 21-4 last year en route to a third-place showing at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Screaming Eagles return two regionally ranked singles players from last year's team, No. 12 Juan Quiroz and No. 15 Santiago Lopez. Michael Kuzaj and Lopez comprise Southern Indiana's regionally sixth-ranked doubles team.
ACU defeated Southern Indiana, 6-3, in February of last year, winning two of three doubles matches and at the top four singles positions.
Ohio Valley Conference schools Murray State (0-4), Belmont (0-2) and Austin Peay (0-2) also are on the Wildcats' weekend slate along with Lipscomb (0-2) of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Governors of Austin Peay went 12-9 a season ago and placed second in their conference at 7-1, while the Racers of Murray State went 5-13 overall and 3-5 vs. the OVC to finish sixth.
Belmont is in its first year as an OVC member, yet was still picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. The Bruins were previously members of the Atlantic Sun and finished their 2012 campaign at 7-14 overall and 4-5 vs. the conference, tying them with Lipscomb. The Bison posted a 9-12 record last season.
The Wildcats went 1-1 last week at home as they followed a 6-3 win over Trinity with a 7-2 loss to Oklahoma Christian, which is in its first year as a D-II member after winning the 2012 NAIA Championship. Sophomore
Guilherme Gesser was the lone Wildcat to win both his singles matches, while Borja Cortes went 2-0 with doubles partners
Hans Hach and
Jason Proctor.
Guilherme Gesser won his first match at No. 4 over Trinity's Julio Benavides 6-0, 7-5, and then came back from a set down at No. 3 to beat OC's Josip Smoljan, 3-6, 6-3, 12-10.
In doubles, ACU's No. 3 team of Hach and Borja Cortes defeated eighth-ranked Eagles Bruno Tiberti and Martin Poboril, 8-2, but could not beat them again in singles competition. No. 41 Tiberti rallied over No. 2 Hach at No. 1 singles, 2-6, 6-2, 11-9, while No. 42 Cortes fell in straight sets at No. 2 to 33rd-ranked Poboril, 6-3, 6-4.
Cortes earned a doubles point with Proctor at No. 2 vs. Trinity and later defeated Nicolas Moreno at No. 3, 6-3, 6-4.
