The No. 15 ranked Longhorns will test their skills on the road this weekend with a matchup against the second best team in the country and against another top 20 team.

Texas (4-0) will square off against No. 2 Virginia on Friday and then travel to North Carolina to take on the No. 17 ranked Tar Heels on Sunday.

Texas is coming off a weekend sweep after hosting three other teams as part of the International Tennis Association Kick-Off weekend. The Longhorns beat their opening opponent, Maryland, 4-0, before facing a familiar conference foe for a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships later this month. Texas earned that spot after defeating Texas Tech by the same score. Junior Daniel Whitehead, ranked No. 112, pulled off an upset over Tech’s Gonzalo Escobar, who was ranked No. 23.

This weekend is going to be a challenge for the young Texas team, as both teams they will face this weekend boast multiple ranked players to the Longhorns’ one.

Virginia is led by the No. 1 ranked player in the country, Mitchell Frank, No. 11 Jarmere Jenkins and No. 57 Justin Shane. Virginia also has two doubles teams ranked in the top 20, and are fresh off an 8-1 victory over Southern Florida earlier this week.

North Carolina (2-2) boasts two ranked players, No. 30 Jose Hernandez and No. 103 William Parker. The Tar Heels have victories over No. 15 Illinois and Tulsa, along with losses to No. 6 Stanford and No. 20 Auburn so far this season.

The Longhorns might also see a familiar name on the Tar Heels roster as the twin brother of freshman Soren Hess-Olesen, Esben, is a member of the team and was named the ACC co-player of the week earlier this week.

Printed on Friday, February 3, 2012 as: Longhorns take on two top 20 teams