SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will open Southland Conference play this weekend with a two-match home stand against Lamar and Nicholls. The Roadrunners (3-4) will face the Cardinals at 11 a.m. on Saturday and the Colonels at noon the next day.
UTSA notes: The Roadrunenrs are coming off a 7-0 victory against Northern Arizona last Sunday. Sophomore Martin Ayala won his No. 1 singles match in straight sets to improve to 5-2 on the season. The Quito, Ecuador, native also teamed with junior Pedro Zanotelli for an 8-6 victory at the top doubles spot. Sophomore Tyler Brown joined forces with freshman Yannick Junger for an 8-4 triumph at the No. 2 doubles position.
Lamar notes: Under the direction of head coach Scott Shankles, the Cardinals (2-3) enter the weekend following a 5-2 home victory against Abilene Christian on Feb. 13. Juniors Dennis Ermilov and Dusan Savkovic boast a perfect 3-0 in doubles play, while juniors Carlos Valdenebro and Marton Horvath, and Savkovic have recorded 3-2 ledgers in singles.
Nicholls notes: Former UTSA assistant coach Meenakshi Sundaram returns to the Alamo City for his first match as the head coach of the Colonels. He has guided Nicholls to a 5-3 overall record in his first season with the club. The team will face Incarnate Word on Saturday before competing against the Roadrunners. The Colonels are 0-2 in Southland Conferenence play, with losses at Texas-Pan American (Feb. 6) and against No. 62 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 20). Damjan Despotovski leads Nicholls with a 4-4 mark at No. 1 singles. Matshidiso Malope and Shayann Vaezzadeh have teamed up to register a 5-2 record at No. 3 doubles.
