Utah Tennis Heads To Dallas For Three Matches

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's tennis team is set for three matches this weekend, traveling to Dallas to face SMU at the SMU Tennis Complex along with a pair of neutral site contests against UT Arlington and Wichita State.

Utah will open the road stretch against SMU on Friday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. CT. The Utes will turn around to play UT Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. CT to begin the neutral site matches in Dallas. Before heading back to Salt Lake City for a seven-match homestand, Utah will square off against Wichita State to close out the weekend on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 12 p.m. CT.

FRESH FACES
The men's tennis team saw the Ute debuts of Geronimo Espin Busleiman, Francisco Bastias and Bruno Krenn in their season opener on Sunday. Busleiman entered the lineup against Grand Canyon in the No. 1 doubles spot with his former juniors doubles partner and Ute Franco Capalbo. Busleiman also competed in the No. 3 singles position for Utah. Bastias teamed up with Randy Cory as the No. 2 doubles team and played at the No. 4 singles spot in his first career start at Utah as a transfer. Rounding out the new faces, freshman Bruno Krenn completed the Utah singles lineup in the sixth spot for his first collegiate competition.
 
RELIABLE RETURNERS
Utah had four returners in the lineup last weekend against Grand Canyon. Slava Shainyan, the team's 2020 MVP, moved into the top singles position in the first match along with seeing time in the No. 3 position for doubles. The reigning Mountain Region Rookie of the Year Franco Capalbo played in the top doubles spot and was the No. 2 singles player for Utah in the season opener. Mathias Gavelin saw action with Shainyan as the third doubles duo, as well as playing in the No. 5 singles spot. Rounding out the returners that saw time on Sunday, Randy Cory teamed with newcomer Bastias as the No. 2 doubles team.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Utah opened the 2021 season against Grand Canyon at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center last Sunday, Jan. 17. The Utes swept the Lopes 7-0 in the home opener and the team's first competition in 316 days.  All three doubles teams earned a victory to open the match with a 1-0 lead heading into singles. In singles, all six Utes knocked off their respective opponents in straight-sets to secure the 7-0 sweep against Grand Canyon.
 
SCOUTING SMU
SMU is 2-3 to begin the 2021 season with the pair of wins coming over Prairie View A&M. The Mustangs dropped a pair of matches to No. 15 Baylor, as well as No. 6 Texas to round out action so far. SMU has had four different athletes play in the top singles spot, while Juan Jose Bianchi and Kyle Sillman have played as the main No. 1 doubles team. Liam Krall and Julian Steinhausen have both earned wins in the top singles position this year.
 
SCOUTING UT-ARLINGTON
UT Arlington finished the 2020 season with a 9-3 overall record. The Mavericks are led by returner Angel Diaz, who earned a No. 84 preseason ranking in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings recently announced for the season. Diaz went 15-4 in 2020 and ended the year ranked No. 110. UT Arlington also returns Miguel Cabrera who finished with an 8-3 dual match singles record and tied for team-high wins playing primarily at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
 
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
Wichita State is 2-1 on the season after picking up wins over Oral Roberts and Omaha last weekend. The Shockers swept Oral Roberts, while downing Omaha 6-1. The sole loss on the year came from No. 14-ranked Oklahoma State. Wichita State is led by Stefan Latinovic, who plays in the No. 1 singles and No. 3 doubles spots, and Marius Frosa, who plays at the No. 2 doubles and No. 2 singles spots.
 
UP NEXT
Utah men's tennis will return to Salt Lake City to begin a seven-match homestand. The Utes will host Idaho State on Saturday, Jan. 30 for a doubleheader at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. Utah will first play the Bengals at 10:30 a.m. MT, followed by the second match coming at 5 p.m. MT.