Feb. 26, 2003

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (2-3 overall) returns to action this weekend after a 19-day break in competition, fleeing the ice and cold of the Memphis area to travel to Tampa, Fla., to compete at South Florida. Memphis will open its weekend schedule against Marquette, Friday, at 10 a.m. (ET).

The Tigers are ranked 52nd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) that was released Tuesday. Memphis is led by the 20th ranked doubles team in the nation in senior Ben Stapp and junior Lee Taylor Walker (Jackson, Tenn./University School of Jackson).

Memphis' first opponent in the weekend-long inner-conference tournament will be Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 2-5 on the season, but have picked up momentum with the return of Raj Gill to their lineup. Gill, who missed the first four matches of the season with a suspected year-ending injury, is 1-2 at No. 1 singles and is 1-2 when playing No. 1 doubles with senior Justin Holsen.

The winner of the Memphis/Marquette match will play host South Florida, at 1 p.m. (ET), Saturday with the loser of the Memphis/Marquette match facing the loser of the UAB/Charlotte match at 9 a.m. (ET), Saturday.

UAB is off to a 5-4 start is most recently dropped a 4-2 decision to Old Dominion in a neutral site match at East Tennessee. Freshman Bastian Grundler is playing No. 1 singles and doubles for the Blazers, while sophomore Ivan Andreev is playing No. 2 singles.

Charlotte is 2-4 on the season and is coming off a tough 4-3 loss against Richmond. Junior Arturo Aguirre is the probable starter at No. 1 singles, while sophomore Marlo Santoso and senior David Bolin have played most of the season at No. 1 doubles.

Host South Florida is ranked No. 22 in the country and is 4-2 on the season. In their last match, the Bulls upended Colorado, 6-1. Sophomore Uli Kiendl and junior Paco Antelo have split time at No. 1 singles, with Antelo and junior Renato Silveira leading the Bulls in doubles at No. 1.

Tulane (4-2) will round out the Tiger slate of possible opponents for this weekend. The Green Wave are ranked No. 29 in the country and are coming off a 6-1 win over No. 54 Tulsa, last week.

Junior Michael Kogan is ranked No. 32 in the country and teams with Victor Romero to earn a national doubles ranking of No. 29. Romero is also ranked 70th in the country in singles play and the duo of Kogan and Romero is coming off an 8-4 win over the then-19th ranked doubles team of Livesay and Taylor for Tulsa.

Schedule for C-USA Shootout (Tampa, Fla.) (All Times Eastern)

Friday
10 a.m. - Match #1 - No. 52 Memphis vs. Marquette
10 a.m. - Match #2 - No. 68 UAB vs. Charlotte

Saturday
9 a.m. - Match #5 - Loser Match No. 1 vs. Loser Match No. 2
1 p.m. - Match #3 - South Florida vs. Winner Match No. 1
1 p.m. - Match #4 - No. 29 Tulane vs. Winner Match No. 2

Sunday 9 a.m. - Match #7 - Loser Match #3 vs. Loser Match #4
1 p.m. - Match #6 - Winner Match #3 vs. Winner Match #4