MEN’S COLLEGE TENNIS: UTPB ranked No. 5 in regional rankings

Apr. 25—The UTPB men’s tennis team is currently ranked No. 5 in the latest NCAA Division II South Central Region Rankings, which was released by the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis advisory committee.

UTPB (6-4 DII Record, 6-4 In-Region Record) is under consideration for the regional tournament along with Lubbock Christian University (19-1, 15-1), The University of Texas at Tyler (19-1, 13-0), Midwestern State University (12-5, 7-3), and St. Mary’s University (6-4, 4-3). The top-four teams from the region advance to the regional tournament, with the two highest ranked teams hosting the lower ranked teams at campus locations. The two winners advance to the NCAA Division II Men’s Championships at Sanlando Park Tennis Center in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

UTPB (4-2 Lone Star Conference) currently sits in third place in the Lone Star Conference standings, a half a match up on Midwestern State (4-3 LSC) and St. Mary’s (4-3 LSC). The Falcons have two matches remaining in the regular season while Midwestern and StMU player each other in their regular-season finale. Both Lubbock Christian and UT Tyler and currently undefeated in the conference at 6-0.

The Falcons are also ranked No. 47 in this week’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division II rankings. Senior Jonathan Vega is ranked No. 35 in the ITA national singles rankings and the doubles pair of Vega and Jonas Krahofer are ranked No. 29 in the ITA national doubles rankings. Vega is 10-4 at No. 1 singles this season, including four wins over ranked opponents, and is a combined 11-1 in doubles with Krahofer. The pair is 10-1 at No. 1 doubles. In the Lone Star Conference, Vega is 5-1 at No. 1 singles and is 5-1 at No. 1 doubles with Krahofer.

UTPB will close out the regular season this weekend with back-to-back road matches. First will be No. 8 nationally-ranked The University of Texas at Tyler starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, in Tyler, Texas, followed by the regular-season finale at Dallas Baptist University starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.