NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans men's tennis team (3-2) returns from a two-week match break on Saturday when they take on the Rice Owls (12-4) on Saturday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The match is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start. The Privateers will then open conference play on Sunday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (10-6).
The Privateers endured their first two losses of the spring two weeks ago when they were defeated by Troy and Stetson. Against Stetson, the Privateers picked up a point from
Gonzalo Garcia at #3 singles after Garcia won in straight sets at 6-1, 6-1 over Laurynas Antropikas.
Saturday will mark the first time the Privateers have taken on Rice in a dual since 2004. The Owls have won the last five meetings against UNO. Entering the weekend, Rice is ranked 33
rd in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The Owls are looking to recover from back-to-back losses to San Diego and Stanford.
For UNO, Garcia and
Luis Albuquerque have turned in records of 4-1 and 3-1 respectively in singles. Garcia was recently bumped up to the #3 spot in the rotation while Albuquerque has acquired all of his singles wins at #6.
The Privateers will open their conference slate on Sunday at 11 a.m. against perennial men's tennis power, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders defeated UNO 6-1 in their match-up last season and have posted five straight victories over UNO. The last time the Privateers triumphed over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a dual was in 2003.
This weekend will also mark the first road matches the Privateers have on the spring schedule. After the weekend concludes, UNO will return home once again for a five-match home stand.
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