UTA Tennis to Open Season this Friday in Corpus Christi
By Reginald Lewis - Office of Communication
Posted on September 10, 2015, September 10, 2015

Articles-UTA-Sports

Hoping to build off a successful 2014-15 season, the men's and women's tennis teams raise the curtain on a new season on Friday in Corpus Christi.

UT Arlington begins play at the Marco & Co. Catering Islanders Open hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a three-day tournament.

"They are really excited and are looking forward to the tournament," UT Arlington coach Diego Benitez said. "It is a very nice tournament and is well put together. They really take care of the players and it is a nice facility by the ocean."

The Mavericks will send three from each of their teams. The opening-weekend slate includes Carlos Arbiza, Mario Muniesa and Pablo Colvee, while Valeria Lopez, Carla Cerdan Vives and Agustina Serio represent the women.

The women's trio features two freshmen in Cerdan Vives and Lopez who compete for the first time at the collegiate level.

"The freshmen are playing really well in practice and are climatizing and getting the groove quite fast," Benitez said. "I want to see how they compete and how they are going to start dealing with the new type of pressure of playing in college."

Benitez plans on mixing up his regular doubles groups he used during the last season during the tournament play of the fall. In the opening event, Arbiza will be joined with Muniesa in the men's doubles flight, while Lopez and Serio will compete in the women's bracket.

Action gets underway on Friday at 9 a.m. in the singles bracket and doubles competition begins at 5 p.m. The opening day will feature two hosting venues; Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center and the H-E-B Tennis Center. The third round will begin play on Saturday with all championship rounds taking place as the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.

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