ABILENE – Held back by injuries last season, the Abilene Christian men's tennis team looks to get back to its 2022 WAC Championship form in 2024.
After a Western Athletic Conference runner-up finish last year, the Wildcats have their eyes on the prize this season, which starts this weekend with a trip to Baylor and Texas. Five of last year's top six are back, including WAC Player of the Year
Dario Kmet.
Kmet,
Daniel Morozov,
Cesar Barranquero,
Benjamin McDonald and
Mihaly Deli return after leading the team in their singles slots.
Ethan Scribner, who was a part of the team's most successful doubles team, also returns as does
Jose Maria Rastrojo, whose season was cut short by injury just five duals into the spring.
Kmet battled back from injury to post a perfect WAC record at first singles. Barranquero led the team with 11 singles wins last season, including a 4-1 mark in the WAC, largely in the third slot. Kmet and Deli had 10 singles wins each with Deli going 4-1 in league matches, mostly at the sixth line.
Kmet, a junior from Sydney, Australia, received Men's Player of the Year and Nunez was voted Coach of the Year.
Kmet and
Cesar Barranquero earned first-team All-Conference singles with
Mihaly Deli named to the second team. The league coaches selected
Savan Chhabra and
Ethan Scribner for first-team doubles.
Morozov played the bulk of his singles matches at No. 2, where he was 9-4 on the season and McDonald was the only Wildcat to play in 20 singles matches, typically at No. 5.
Scribner and graduated doubles partner
Savan Chhabra, were 14-7 last season and led the team in wins at both Nos. 2 and 3 doubles for the season, including a 4-1 WAC mark.
It's easy to see why the team looks at winning as an expectation.
"I think that's why we've been excited for the last couple of years," said ACU Head Coach Juan Nunez. "Two years ago after we won we knew we were going to be returning a big core of our guys the next two years. We graduated Savan, who was a big part of our success for four years, but we still have five of the top six from last year. It's a good feeling not to start from scratch. It takes a lot of pressure off of me and off of them. And I think the ones that benefit the most are the freshmen. They don't have to play in the top spots."
Those three freshmen coming into the mix this season are
Martin Delindo from Argentina,
Dennis Dutine from Germany and Mihaly's brother
Merse Deli from Hungary. Dutine and
Merse Deli got a taste of college tennis this fall with Delindo expected to make his debut this spring.
"When our returning guys came as freshmen, we were expecting them to be playing as soon as they set foot on campus," Nunez said. "I'm really excited about the talent we brought in this year. They're all capable of being in the lineup but we don't have to rush them in the first weekend and throw them to the wolves. They're going to play a lot but it doesn't have to be at the one, two or three spots."
While the singles and doubles assignments may end up looking differently at the end of the season, 2024 begins with Kmet and Morozov the favorites to be at the top of the singles lineup.
"Obviously with Dario back with the success he's had in the last two years, he can carry the team," said Nunez. "Last year he struggled a little bit with some injuries and having Dani, who played No. 1 as a freshman; you know you have two guys that at any point are your number one. And they are going to be comfortable in those spots. Those two dudes just the experience, the competitiveness, and how comfortable they are in carrying the team; it's something that set our team for success the last two years."
Barranquero has been the steadying influence in the middle of the lineup.
"Cesar is a constant," said Nunez. "You know what you're getting out of him. Every year, every match, he's gonna show up. He's not gonna win them all but you don't have to worry about him. Being that older player, he's kind of your granddad out there. He's not going to be loud but he's not going to get low or negative. He's very mature – that even-keel guy that you definitely need on your team."
After Rastrojo went down with an injury last season, he remained a part of the team off the court and was an encouraging voice for teammates. This year, he hopes to return to the on-court presence the team needs.
"Jose had a great start last year and he's worked his way back," said Nunez. "We missed him. He and Mihaly both had bad luck at times with injuries. Jose has played a huge role for us in doubles and Mihaly played a big role for us in singles last year. Having them back as seniors is great."
McDonald returns for his junior season as a reliable teammate who is constantly looking to improve his game.
"He's a guy that's going to be ready for you," Nunez said. "He's very analytical and thinking ahead to how he can get himself ready to do whatever we need. He's very much a utility guy and we are going to need him. You can use him in whatever role you need him. He's that utility knife that every team needs."
Scribner made his mark last season in doubles but also carried a 3-3 mark in fifth singles as a freshman.
"Ethan showed up raw in some areas but he took ownership on the court and was pretty amazing," said Nunez. "He was a freshman playing doubles with a senior and he adapted to that really well after some conversations. Once he realized he belonged there, he really owned court three."
The talented newcomers and seasoned returners will be tested in the non-conference and hope to emerge in the WAC season as a battle-tested, healthy team to beat.
Along with top junior colleges and lower-division NCAA teams, the Cats play three top-25 teams in January. That includes eight top-50 singles and three top-25 doubles tandems in the early going.
"Every kid wants to play against the best," Nunez said. "We're going to test ourselves in those matches. And, if we win the WAC, we'll see them again because that's just the way it works in NCAA regionals."
The Western Athletic Conference will be a tougher schedule this season with only four matches. ACU plays at Seattle and Grand Canyon and at home against UTRGV and defending WAC champion Texas-Arlington. Those four matches come in a stretch of 16 days, starting March 30.
"UTA was a really good team top to bottom and we were going to have to be nearly perfect to beat them," said Nunez. "I think that's the same and now Grand Canyon has gotten better, too. UTRGV has gotten some good players and Seattle is a dangerous team. The parity in the WAC this year is the best I've seen. But these guys were able to get it done as freshmen so we believe we should get it done every year."
The team chemistry has been a strength, even though each of the players brings his own culture and personality to the table.
"We kind of call it a little dysfunctional family and I guess it, starts with me," Nunez said. "We're very much so a family but I don't know if in any other situation that this group would have gotten together. And that's also kind of the hard part. It's hard to know that every practice is one less practice you're going to have with this group. One less practice with D-K, Mihaly and Jose. That's that hardest part of my job."
The season commences Saturday with the Cats tangling with No. 25 Baylor in Waco.
