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NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S TENNIS DIGITAL PROGRAM
The top-ranked UWF men's tennis team will continue its run towards its fourth NCAA Championship this week when the Argos open play in the round of 16 against Armstrong State on Tuesday at 4 pm Eastern time.
UWF IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Since defeating No. 1 Hawaii Pacific, No. 3 Armstrong State and No. 7 Barry March 11-13 in Savannah, ga., UWF has been the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Additionally,
Alex Peyrot is currently No. 4 nationally and No. 2 in the South region in singles;
Gabriel Dias is No. 15/No. 9 and
Warren Kuhn is No. 45/No. 15. In doubles action, Peyrot and Pedro Dumont have been ranked No. 1 since winning the Oracle/ITA Division II National Championship in the fall. Gabriel Dias and
Pedro Roese are ranked 23rd nationally and No. 7 in the region in doubles.
UWF'S NCAA HISTORY
UWF is in the midst of its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance and has appeared in every tournament since 1997, its first season of eligibility after moving from NAIA to NCAA status. The Argos are making their 16th showing in the Round of 16 and have a . UWF has advanced to the title match five times and is 3-2, winning national championships in 2004, 2005 and 2014. The team lost in 1997 and 2012.
NCAA Division II National Championships
8 Lander
7 SIU Edwardsville
6 UC Irvine
4 Rollins
3 West Florida, Armstrong, Cal St. L.A., Chapman, Barry
AGAINST THE FIELD
UWF has faced five of the remaining 15 other teams in 2017 and gone 5-0 against them. The Argos defeated Hawaii Pacific (5-4), Barry (5-4), Armstrong State (5-0) and Cameron (5-0) in a five-day stretch from March 11-15, and Columbus State (5-0) on April 13.
SANLANDO PARK IS OUR FRIEND
When UWF head coach
Derrick Racine saw that the round of 16 had returned to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, he got both excited and emotional. The facility north of Orlando is where the Argonauts have won all three of their national titles. In fact, UWF has won three of the eight times its has been at Sanlando (BYU Hawaii, Lynn, Armstrong State, Valdosta State and Barry have each won once there). UWF is 16-2 all-time in NCAA matches at Sanlando Park - the losses came in the semifinals in 2003 and 2007.
UWF LOADED WITH SENIOR EXPERIENCE
UWF has seven seniors and one graduate student on its roster this season. Of the nine players listed on the NCAA Championships lineup, the Argos have one graduate student, five seniors, a redshirt junior, a junior and a freshman. However, their NCAA round of 16 experience is a bit limited, with
Alex Peyrot having played in 2014 & 2015, while
Warren Kuhn,
Sebastian Sanchez and
Pablo Tellez all played in two matches in 2015.
PEYROT/DUMONT RANKED #1 IN THE NATION IN DOUBLES
UWF seniors
Alex Peyrot and
Pedro Dumont have been ranked No. 1 nationally in doubles since winning the Oracle/ITA Division II National Championship out in Surprise, Ariz. at the end of the fall season. The duo has a 30-4 overall record and is 22-3 in dual matches. Their losses have come against Georgia Gwinnet's Kevin Konfederak/Kevin Cox in the ITA Super Bowl Semifinals, to GWU's Konfederak/Gilad Berman on March 5, to Barry's Ahmed Triki/Pierre Montrieul on March 12 and last week in the regional final against Lynn's Mehdi Laalej/Florian Clemares. The three dual losses were pro sets and the Super Bowl was 6-4, 7-5.
DOUBLES DOMINANCE
UWF has combined to go 78-9 in doubles play this season, including 28-1 at the No. 2 position. The Argos' doubles pairings for the NCAA Championship are: No. 1
Alex Peyrot/
Pedro Dumont at 22-3 in duals; No. 2
Gabriel Dias/
Pedro Roese are 19-1; No. 3
Warren Kuhn/
Pablo Tellez are 12-0 (11-0 at No. 3). UWF has swept the doubles matches 22 times this season, gone 2-1 five times and fell behind 1-2 twice (at Georgia Gwinnett in a 5-4 loss and vs. Lynn in last week's 5-3 regional final win).
