Men's Tennis Open League Play

BROOKINGS, S.D.—The South Dakota State men's tennis team has had a record-setting spring and hopes to carry that momentum into Summit League play this weekend. The Jackrabbits play at Oral Roberts Friday at 6:30 p.m. and meets Illinois at Chicago in nonconference action Saturday at 6 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Caste Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The Jackrabbits, who had a school record nine-match win streak snapped March 10 with a 6-1 loss to Youngstown State, are 10-6 overall and winners in 10 of the last 12 matches. SDSU went 5-2 in Orlando last week.

"We have played a lot of tennis over the last two weeks and are definitely ready for conference play to begin. We have had great energy and work ethic all season and I expect the team to ramp it up even more for conference play," sixth-year head coach Michael Engdahl said. "This year, every team in The Summit League is very even and every match is going to be a battle. Oral Roberts is a very good team but we have shown that we can play with anyone. It is an exciting time of year and I know the players and coaches are really looking forward to it."

Junior Lucas Pereira had a nine-match winning streak snapped but is 6-3 at No. 5 and 1-0 at No. 3 and No. 6 and 1-1 at No. 4. The doubles team of junior Jonny Higham and sophomore Marco Paulo Castro are 7-2 on the season, including 1-2 at No. 1, 3-0 at No. 2 and 3-0 at No. 3.

SDSU is 1-7 overall in Summit League openers with its lone win coming vs. Centenary in 2007-08. The Jacks lost 6-1 at IUPUI last year. The Jackrabbits won the first meeting vs. Oral Roberts March 29, 2015, 4-3, but then lost 4-2 in The Summit League Tournament April 24. Overall, they are 2-5 vs. Oral Roberts since 2007-08.

Oral Roberts is opens league play after losing at Wichita State, 6-1, March 12 and defeating UALR in two matches Monday. Current Summit League Player of the Week and junior Amar Saletovic is 4-6 in his last 10 matches, including three wins at No. 1 singles in his last three outings. Senior Braxton Bates and junior Michael Sosnowski are 5-3 at No. 3 doubles.

Illinois Chicago is 5-6 overall and enters the weekend with a pair of wins over Summit League members Omaha (7-0) and IUPUI (4-3). Junior Carl Hedstrom has won his last three matches at No. 1 and has a 5-7 record. Senior Mitch Granger and senior Christopher Cole are 5-6 at No. 1 doubles and have won their last three matches.

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Marco Paulo Castro

Jonny Higham

Lucas Pereira

Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Denver on April 22, 2018 , Loss , 0, to, 7

Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Oral Roberts on April 21, 2018 , Loss , 2, to, 5

Completed Event: Men's Tennis at Augustana on April 20, 2018 , Win , 5, to, 2

Completed Event: Men's Tennis at Omaha on April 15, 2018 , Loss , 2, to, 5

Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Illinois State on April 7, 2018 , Loss , 0, to, 7

Completed Event: Men's Tennis at Valparaiso on April 6, 2018 , Loss , 2, to, 5

South Dakota State University Athletics