LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The spring season began for four Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's tennis teams this weekend.
Trinity University opened the season against Hardin-Simmons University before heading to Abilene Christian University for matches against non-Division III competition.
Southwestern University competed with Schreiner University at an invitational hosted by the Mountaineers in Kerrville, Texas.
Texas Lutheran University took on a nationally-ranked NCAA Division II opponent in St. Edwards University.
Schreiner University
The Mountaineers hosted the Schreiner Invitational at home this weekend, earning a top finish among Division III opponents and third among all teams competing. Austin Carrola was one of five Mountaineer singles or doubles teams to finish in third place in his flight and that trip included a big win over East Texas Baptist's top player in flight 1 singles. Carrola teamed with Stephen Rogers in the #1 doubles spot to claim third-place overall and did so at the expense of ETBU's top team. Also raking in third place finishes were Nick Pena (#2 singles) and Josh Ramirez (#5 singles) and junior Christian Casillas (#6 singles). The top finish for a Mountaineer was at #3 doubles where the team of Teg Lozano and Casillas claimed a runner-up spot after falling in the finals. Lozano finished in fourth place in flight #4 singles as did the #2 doubles team of Dayton Hancock and Pena. Hancock finished in sixth place at #2 singles.
Southwestern University
The Pirates' men's tennis team finished in sixth place among tough competition at the Schreiner Invitational this weekend. Trevor Searle led the men with a first place finish in #6 singles. He opened with a 7-6, 3-6, 10-4 win over Our Lady of the Lake opponent and won in straight sets in the quarterfinals to advance to the finals. In the finals, Searle won over USW to take the championship. William Ellis also advanced to the finals after 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 and 6-1, 6-2 wins early in the tournament. He was bested by ETBU in the finals to take second place in #3 singles. Sam McCready captured fourth place after winning his first match 6-1, 3-6, 7-4, but fell in his final two matches. In doubles action, the pairing of David Strong and Neik Khansari finished second in #2 doubles after winning 8-6, 8-4 in their first two matches of the day before falling to OLLU.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs traveled to Austin to take on St. Edwards University, falling to the 23rd ranked Hilltoppers 0-9. TLU's No. 5 singles player Eric Beckenbach took St. Edwards' Davor Iykovic to three sets. Iykovic won 6-7 (5), 6-2, 1-0 (10-4). In the No. 1 singles, Cliff Pack was defeated 6-1, 6-0 by SEU's Patrick Clynes. Sanio Dizdarevic competed in the No. 2 singles, narrowly falling in the second set, but losing 6-0, 6-4 to Ricardo Pineda. Kyle Thompson played SEU's Felix Bake close, but eventually fell 6-3, 6-3. In doubles competition, the No. 2 pairing of Greg Nelson and Wade Dillenbeck posted the best finish against SEU, but still fell 8-3 to Bake/Pena.
Trinity University
The third ranked Tigers competed twice this weekend, beginning with a shutout of Hardin-Simmons University. Jordan Mayer and Aaron Skinner, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III national champion doubles team scored an 8-2 win in the No. 1 match. In the No. 2 doubles spot, Adam Krull and Clayton Niess picked up an 8-2 win, while Charlie Curtis and Chas Mayer blanked their opponents 8-0 in the No. 3 spot. In singles action, Krull won in the No. 1 spot 6-4, 6-2. Skinner battled in the No. 2 spot, going to three sets, but eventually winning 6-3, 4-6, 11-9. Mayer won the No. 3 singles, Niess won the No. 4 line, Curtis took No. 5 and Pablo Diaz Boom was the winner in the No. 6 spot. The following day, the team traveled to Abilene Christian University, taking on ACU and Tyler Junior College. The Tigers beat ACU 4-3. Krull/Neiss and Curtis/Mayer rallied to earn the doubles point for TU. Krull nabbed a point with a straight-set win in No.1 singles. Skinner and Mayer each earned three-set wins in singles action to clinch the win.