NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers men's tennis team (6-12, 0-2) wheels back around on Thursday and dives back into Southland play when they take on the UIW Cardinals at the University Tennis Center. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
New Orleans suffered a 6-1 loss at the hands of Tulane and wound up being shorthanded for singles as
Nicolas Kramer was unable to play due to an injury sustained in doubles. The Privateers' lone point on the afternoon against the crosstown foes came from
Mats Westkamp.
"I think we go into this match like every match," said Coach
Burzis Kanga. "What happened yesterday with Mats is indicative that he can play with some of the best in the country. If we go out there and execute, this should be a good match for us. It's critical for where we end up in the conference."
Westkamp recorded his seventh singles win of the season. The junior transfer has played mostly at flight one where six of his triumphs have been recorded. He's also registered eight doubles victories along with
Misha Fomenkov.
New Orleans has five matches left on the docket with three of them coming against Southland foes. The Privateers will also host Nicholls (Apr. 10) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Apr. 13). The two non-conference bouts remaining are against William Carey (Apr. 11) and LSU (Apr. 21).
The Privateers are 4-2 all-time against UIW with all meetings coming since both became members of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals won last year's meeting 6-1.
UIW (9-5, 1-0) won their conference opener in convincing fashion, sweeping Nicholls 7-0. The Cardinals only dropped one match (at flight one doubles). This season, the Cardinals are 3-4 on the road.
In the event of inclement weather on Thursday, the match will be moved to indoor courts at the Hilton Riverside at 8 p.m.
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