Feb. 27, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. (SMU)--The No. 44 SMU men's tennis team faces a tough challenge this weekend, as it heads to the east coast to take on No. 32 Virginia Tech on Friday and No. 21 VCU on Saturday.

Scouting the Mustangs: The Mustangs are 9-2 this season, with their only losses coming to then-No. 7 Texas and then-No. 9 Notre Dame. Overall, SMU boasts a 54-12 (.818) record in singles and a 14-10 (.583) mark in doubles. The Mustangs are led by No. 50 Robin Fahgen in singles, who owns a 7-2 record, mostly at No. 1, Adolfo Solares (7-0) in the fourth and fifth slots and Taylor St. Eve (8-0), who predominately plays at No. 6. Oivind Alver and David Kuczer are each 6-2 in singles and have both come up with some big wins. SMU has struggled somewhat in doubles play, with no pair consistently victorious. Sophomores Taylor St. Eve and Darren Walsh have the best record on the team, with a 3-1 mark.

Last Time Out: SMU defeated Minnesota, 5-2, last Sunday at the Dallas Country Club. The Mustangs won all three doubles matches to start the afternoon, with two matches being particularly contentious. In singles, Fahgen lost only his second match of the season, falling to the 46th-ranked player. Alex Skrypko also dropped his singles match at No. 3. But the Mustangs were bolstered by key come-from-behind wins by Kuczer and Alver. Chris Hooshyar and St. Eve both picked up straight-set wins over their opponents.

Scouting the Hokies: The Virginia Tech Hokies are undefeated this season, boasting a perfect 8-0 record. As a team, the Hokies have a 38-10 (.792) singles record and an 18-6 (.750) mark in doubles. Virginia Tech's lineup is solid, from top to bottom, with no more than two losses coming at any position. Leading the Hokies is senior Albert Larrengola (4-2), currently ranked 86th in the country. The Hokies have five players with six or more wins and only one loss each. Yoann Re (7-1) and Brandon Corace (7-1) lead the team in singles wins, playing at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively. The Hokies also have a trio of players with six wins apiece. Sebastien Jacques, who plays at No. 4 and No. 5 is 6-1, Nicolas Delgado de Robles is also 6-1, with most of his wins at No. 2 and Pedro Graber rounds out the six-win trio, playing mostly at No. 4. The Hokies are impressive in doubles as well. Jacques/Re (6-1) have the best record on the team, playing at No. 3, while Delgado de Robles and Graber are close behind at 4-2 at No. 1. Last time out, the Hokies defeated Maryland, 6-1.

Scouting the Rams: The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams enter the weekend ranked No. 21 in the country and with a 9-2 record. The Rams' only losses have come to top-ranked Virginia and No. 8 North Carolina. VCU boasts a team record of 32-17 (.653) in singles and 19-5 (.791) in doubles. The Rams are led in singles Georges-Alexandre Israel (8-2) and Damien Lacombe (7-2). Israel is 3-0 at No. 3 and 4-1 at No. 4, while Lacombe is undefeated at No. 1 (4-0) and at No. 2 (2-0). Emil Lindgren has also been strong for the Rams, notching a 6-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 at No. 2. In doubles, Bobo Delemark paired with Stepan Siska to post a 6-0 record, mostly at No. 3. The duo of #24 Sebastian Ripoll and Lindgren has recorded a 5-1 mark at No. 1, while the No. 2 pair of #48 Thibaut Charron and Schulhauser boasts a 4-1 record this season.

Results: The complete match recaps and results will be available on SMUMustangs.com following the completion of each match.

Up Next: The Mustangs will have just a few days off before traveling north to face No. 15 Oklahoma State on Wednesday, March 5 at 2pm in Stillwater, Okla.