UP NEXT: Utah Takes on Washington in Pac-12 Tournament
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's tennis team heads to the Pac-12 Championships as the No. 9 seed. The Utes are set to take on the No. 8 seeded Washington Huskies on April 24 at 1 p.m. (MT)
MATCH INFORMATION
No. 9 Utah (3-19, 0-8 Pac-12) vs No. 8 Washington (8-14, 2-6 Pac-12)
DATE|TIME: Wednesday, April 24 | 1 p.m. MT
LOCATION: Ojai, Calif. | Libbey Park
LIVE STREAM: Click Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @UtahTennis
LAST TIME OUT
The Utes wrapped up their final home matches last weekend with contests against UCLA and USC. Despite exhibiting potential in each of the competitions, the squad fell short 4-0 in both matches.
HEAD COACH ROELAND BRATEANU
Utah Head Coach Roeland Brateanu, reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year, leads the Utes for his tenth season this spring. Under Brateanu's guidance, the Utah men claimed the Pac-12 Champions title as well as finished with a No. 1 ranking in the ITA Mountain Region last spring. Currently, Brateanu boasts a 159-104 overall record. Additionally, Brateanu was also named Intermountain Coach of the Year by the USTPA for the 2023 season.
THE UTES
The Utah roster is comprised of seven returning players. Geronimo Espin Busleiman returned to compete for the Utes at the No. 1 spot after an impressive 2023 spring season. Berk Bugarikj also returns after he boasted an ITA No. 1 ranking in doubles for the Mountain Region last season. Bruno Krenn also returns for the Utes, claiming his first victory at the No. 2 spot in the season opener and taking a notable victory at the No. 1 spot in Utah's home match against LMU.
Twins Jayson Blando and Michael Blando return for their third season with the squad. Geremia Rossi makes a comeback to the team for the third time this spring season and taking the No. 3 doubles spot with partner Dylan Applegate. This is Applegate's second season with the Utes.
Gianluca Citadini is the single newcomer for the Utah team. The Argentinian national reached as high as No. 139 on the ITF Junior World Rankings and is a Grade 1 National Tournament Champion in Argentina. Citadini claimed his first regular-season collegiate win in the No. 5 spot at Utah's season opener and recently secured a win at the No. 4 spot in the home match against LMU.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
The No. 8 seeded Washington Huskies are currently 8-14 overall on the season and 2-6 in Pac-12 action. The Huskies most recently posted a 2-4 loss to Arizona State. Washington is currently on a four-match losing streak. The last time Utah and Washington met was earlier this season where Utah took a 4-0 loss.
UTAH IN THE PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Utah has met up with Washington three times in the Pac-12 Tournament. Most recently, the Utes and Huskies battled in 2017 where Utah earned a 4-1 win. Utah has a 1-2 record with UW in the tournament. In 2015, Utah fell 4-0 to UW and then the Utes narrowly fell a year later in 2016 with a 4-3 score.
Utah has a 7-11 record in the Pac-12 tournament. The 2023 tournament was the best showing for the Utes as Utah went all the way to the championship match after picking up a 4-1 win over UCLA in the quarterfinals and a 4-3 win over Arizona in the semifinals.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2024 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahTennis | Instagram: @UtahTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahmenstennis).