No. 44 SMU Men's Tennis To Host No. 66 Minnesota Sunday

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No. 44 SMU Men's Tennis To Host No. 66 Minnesota Sunday
Mustangs (8-2) Face Gophers (1-6) at the Dallas Country Club


DALLAS (SMU)--The No. 44 SMU men's tennis team plays host to No. 66 Minnesota this Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1:00 p.m. at the Dallas Country Club (maps, directions).

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: The Mustangs are 8-2 this season, with their only losses coming to then-No. 7 Texas and then-No. 9 Notre Dame. Their strong play has not gone unnoticed. Robin Fahgen, who has pieced together a remarkable 7-1 record mostly at No. 1 singles, recently garnered a No. 50 ranking in the latest ITA poll. In addition to the strength at the top of the lineup, the Mustangs can also rely heavily on Adolfo Solares (7-0) in the middle and Taylor St. Eve (7-0) at the bottom. Oivind Alver (5-2) has shown his versatility this season, playing in positions one through four and David Kuczer (5-2) has seemingly found a home at No. 2, where he has a 4-1 record.

LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend, SMU hosted a trio of matches, facing Arkansas-Little Rock last Friday, Feb. 15 and Lamar and Centenary last Sunday, Feb. 17. The Mustangs swept the weekend with little trouble, taking Arkansas-Little Rock, 4-2, Lamar, 7-0, and Centenary, 6-0. Fahgen lost his only singles match of the season to Arkansas-Little Rock, 7-5, 6-4. Alver picked up a pivotal win at No. 4 singles, notching a come-from-behind victory, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Alver also had an impressive outing against Lamar, blanking his opponent in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Against Centenary, the Mustangs downed all their singles opponents in straight sets and dominated the doubles matches, never allowing the Gents more than two points.

SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: The No. 66 Minnesota Gophers have struggled this season, piecing together a 1-6 record, with losses coming to Denver, Middle Tennessee State, Oklahoma, Drake, San Diego State and Arizona. The Gophers' lone win of the season was over Wisconsin-Green Bay back on Feb. 9, when Minnesota blanked the Phoenix, 7-0. The Gophers are led by No. 46 Raoul Schwark, who boasts a 3-3 record in dual meets at No. 1. Minnesota is also bolstered by Dino Bilankov, who has compiled a 6-1 mark, mostly at No. 2 singles. In all, the Gophers have amassed an 18-24 (.429) record in singles and a 5-15 (.250) mark in doubles.

UP NEXT: SMU has a tough road ahead as they travel to the east coast to face No. 33 Virginia Tech on Feb. 29 and No. 21 VCU on March 1 in Richmond, Va.

For the complete schedule and results, log on to SMUMustangs.com.