Larry Levanti Photography
Larry Levanti Photography
Posted: May 10, 2018

Men's tennis faces Texas in NCAA First Round on Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's tennis team will make its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday afternoon as they face the University of Texas in Austin.

The Particulars

Opponent: Texas

Date: Friday, May 11

Time: 5:00 p.m. EST

Location: Texas Tennis Center (Austin, Texas)

Live Scoring: TexasSports.com

Video: TexasSports.com

How they got here

  • Bryant qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning its fifth-straight Northeast Conference championship two weekends ago.
  • The Bulldogs won both matches easily, defeating FDU and Wagner, 4-0.
  • Texas won its first Big 12 Tournament title to earn the right to host for the second-straight season.
  • It was the Longhorns first Big 12 Tournament title since 2010.

The Lineup - *Texas players based on lineup for Big 12 title match*

No. 1 Singles

  • Redshirt junior Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, R.I.) will face the 110th ranked player in the country, Christian Sigsgaard.
  • Kuhar owns one the nation's highest winning percentages at the No. 1 spot, entering the NCAA Tournament with a 20-3 record. He has won each of his last five matches.
  • Kuhar has some experience with top-level talent this year, having faced the currently ranked No. 4, No. 54, No. 64 and No. 121 ranked players in the country. He defeated the No. 54 ranked player, Billy Griffith of Cal.
  • Last season, Kuhar became the first Bulldog to win a set in the NCAA Tournament when he won the first set, 6-0, against Oklahoma's Andrew Harris.
  • As a true freshman in 2015, Kuhar faced the No. 2 player in the country and was even in the second set, 2-2, when the match went unfinished.
  • Sigsgaard is 14-2 on the year and is currently ranked No. 110.
  • He is 3-4 against nationally-ranked opponents, having most recently faced No. 68 Johannes Schretter from Baylor.

No. 2 Singles

  • Senior Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will face No. 52 Yuya Ito.
  • Lorenz was named the NEC Tournament MVP after winning his singles and doubles matches in both NEC Tournament matches.
  • He enters the NCAA Tournament with a 12-12 record on the season, having won each of his last four.
  • Lorenz is 0-2 in his NCAA career.
  • Ito played at No. 1 for most of the year but is now 3-0 at No. 2 after a win in the Big 12 title match.
  • He has gone 6-4 against nationally-ranked opponents this year after defeating the 88th-ranked player in the country in the Big 12 title match.
  • Ito reached the third round (round of 16) in the main singles draw at the 2017 NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors.

No. 3 Singles

  • Junior Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, Texas) will face No. 89 Harrison Scott.
  • Jakubowski is 14-9 on the year, including a 3-5 mark at No. 3 singles. He enters the NCAA Tournament having won each of his last five matches.
  • Jakubowski played at the No. 3 spot in last year's NCAA Tournament and the No. 5 spot as a true freshman in 2016.
  • Jakubowski will be playing just three hours south of his hometown of Dallas.
  • Scott enters the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5 record, including a 7-2 record at No. 3.
  • Scott advanced to the round of 32 in 2017 NCAA Championships.
  • He is 2-3 against nationally-ranked opponents this season.

No. 4 Singles

  • Classmate Michael Plutt (Weston, Fla.) slots in at No. 4 and will face No. 93 Leonardo Telles.
  • Plutt spent the fall abroad but has come back strong in the spring, going 6-4 and winning each of his last four matches.
  • He played at No. 5 in last year's NCAA Tournament and joined Kuhar as the only players to ever win a set. He won the second set, 6-3, against Adrian Oetzbach before the match went unfinished.
  • Plutt also played at the No. 4 spot as a true freshman in 2016, falling in straight sets.
  • Telles is 10-7 on the year, posting a 9-3 mark at No. 4. He is 2-3 against nationally-ranked opponents.
  • Telles was ranked as high as No. 1036 in the ATP world singles rankings prior to arriving at Texas.
  • He won a pair of matches in Texas' run in last year's NCAA Tournament.

No. 5 Singles

  • Senior Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) will face No. 104 Rodrigo Banzer.
  • Ortiz-Garcia was named to the NEC All-Tournament team and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 8-5 record. He has won each of his last five matches.
  • Ortiz-Garcia made history this year, becoming the first Bryant tennis player to ever compete in the Davis Cup. He represented his home country of Puerto Rico.
  • He competed at No. 6 as a true freshman in 2015 and at No. 5 in 2016. In 2016, went shot-for-shot in the first set, falling 7-6 (9-7) before the match went unfinished.
  • Banzer is 10-5 on the year and 5-4 at the No. 5 spot.
  • Banzer has also competed in the Davis Cup during his career. He represented his home country of Bolivia in 2015.
  • He clinched Texas' win over Tulane in the 2017 NCAA Championships with a three-set victory.

No. 6 Singles

  • Freshman Wilson Dong (Bradenton, Fla.) will get his first taste of the NCAA Tournament when he faces Adrian Ortiz at No. 6.
  • Dong was named the NEC Rookie of the Year last week and also clinched Bryant's fifth-straight NEC title with a win at No. 6. He is 9-10 on the year but has won each of his last five matches.
  • Dong has played at all six spots in the lineup and will be playing at No. 6 for just the third time.
  • Ortiz is 11-2 on the year, posting a 7-1 mark at No. 6.
  • Prior to Texas, Ortiz was ranked as high as No. 119 in the ITF junior rankings.

No. 1 Doubles

  • Kuhar and Jakubowski form Bryant's top doubles team that will face No. 39 Scott and Sigsgaard.
  • The Bryant duo enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 18-7 on the year. They have won each of their last six matches.
  • Kuhar and Jakubowski have never played together in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Scott and Sigsgaard are 5-0 together on the year.
  • They are 2-0 against nationally-ranked opponents.

No. 2 Doubles

  • Ortiz-Garcia will be joined by younger brother Jorge Isaias Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) at No. 2. They will face Telles and Ortiz from Texas.
  • The brothers enter the NCAA Tournament with a record of 6-10 on the year.
  • This will be their first time playing together in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Froggy will be making his NCAA Tournament debut.
  • Telles and Ortiz have played together just twice this season and are 1-1.

No. 3 Doubles

  • Lorenz will team with freshman Grant Pertile (Edgartown, Mass.) at No. 3. They will face Ito and Colin Markes from Texas.
  • Lorenz and Pertile have been Bryant's most consistent doubles team this season and enter the NCAA Tournament with a record of 17-5. They are 15-4 at No. 3.
  • Ito and Markes are 7-5 on the year, going 6-4 at No. 3.