NEW ORLEANS - A rare husband versus wife dual will occur on Friday at 3 p.m. as the University of New Orleans tennis teams host Loyola-New Orleans at the University Tennis Center.
The match against Loyola is one of two on the weekend for the UNO tennis teams, who will also challenge Xavier (La.) on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the UTC. Third-year Privateer assistant coach Piyanart Engineer will be on the sidelines opposite her husband, Loyola head coach Zubin Engineer, in his second year at the helm of the tennis program at the Uptown school.
According to available research, this is the first husband versus wife encounter at the NCAA level since the 2008-09 season when Division II foes Lynn and Tampa met three times in women's basketball.
Lynn was coached by Nikki Jessee while Tampa was headed by her husband, Tom. The two are presently on the staff at Tampa as Nikki serves as an assistant to her husband.
The UNO men entered the weekend with a 6-2 record while their female counterparts are 3-7.
Hossam Meligy and Abdelrahman Zaki have matching three-match winning streaks in singles' play with Meligy's 6-2 dual record topping Zaki and Vinay Kamineni's 5-2 mark for team-best honors.
In doubles' play, Meligy teams with Benjamin Bouhana for a 5-3 record at the No. 1 position followed by Zaki and Kamineni who are 4-2 at No. 2 this spring.
On the women's side – Sofija Karalic is 6-3 at the No. 4 position in the lineup and 6-4 on the dual season, to lead UNO. Karalic's overall singles' record equals that of Amber Garza, who is 5-4 at No. 3 and 1-0 at No. 4.
When partnering up, Garza and Kozue Matsumoto have won consecutive matches and carry a 7-3 record at the No. 1 doubles' position with Karalic and Martic posting a 4-6 record at No. 2.
The Loyola men are 1-5 this season and have not won since a program-opening 9-0 win over Tougaloo on Feb. 5. Brian Pena is 4-2 in singles' with victories at No. 1 against Tougaloo, Mobile, Belhaven and Spring Hill.
The Wolf Pack women are 1-6 in their second season with their lone victory also coming against Tougaloo at the beginning of the season. Claire Landry has found the most success for Loyola, including a win at No. 1 against Xavier.
The Xavier men bring an 11-6 record into the weekend with their most recent setback coming in the form of a 9-0 loss on Mar. 26 against NAIA No. 3 Auburn-Montgomery. XULA is led by Hassan Abbas, who has posted an 11-5 record in singles' play and 12-5 mark in doubles.
The Gold Nuggets are 3-12 with a victory against Loyola on Mar. 25 snapping the team's nine-dual losing streak that included losses to four NCAA Division I opponents. Melissa DeLoach is 7-11 while playing in the middle of the singles' lineup for head coach Alan Green's team with a 10-8 record in doubles' competition.
These matches represent the final home duals of the season for UNO, as the team will end the season on a four-day, four-match swing next weekend that takes the squad to William Carey, Spring Hill, West Florida and Mobile.
