Texas was scheduled to head to New Orleans to face Tulane on Tuesday, the penultimate match of a month-long road trip that concludes March 3. Instead, due to weather concerns, the Longhorns and Green Wave agreed to cancel the match. On short notice, Texas scheduled a home meeting with in-state foe Incarnate Word to replace the canceled trip to New Orleans.
The No. 3 Longhorns improved to 12-1 on the season, dominating Incarnate Word in the impromptu match. The teams of Colin Markes/Leonardo Telles, No. 57 Yuya Ito/Chih Chi Huang and Nevin Arimilli/Johnny Goodwin bested the Cardinal doubles squads of Evans/Mortier, Bendana/Dyer and Boisseau/Valentinsson.
Texas swept singles play, which included a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win by senior Colin Markes over Dennis Boisseau. Markes’ Tuesday success was a continuation of his stellar performance at the ITA National Indoor Championships from mid-February, where he qualified for the All-Tournament Team.
“(Making the All-Tournament Team) was really nice for me,” Markes said. “I was focused really hard. I think the whole team was focused the whole tournament. We just fell short a little bit to Ohio State. We’re just happy we have them again this season, outdoors. It was definitely a good achievement, but I’m definitely still hungry for something more.”
The quickly-scheduled match brought the Longhorns the rhythm and momentum they’ll need when traveling to Athens to face Georgia on Sunday.
“We did what we needed to do to get some good matches in before we go on the road,” Markes said. “There was some tennis up and down the board. I looked over, a lot of my teammates were putting some good scores on the board. I’m happy with it.”
Head coach Michael Center said the team was excited to play Georgia after the win against Incarnate Word.
“I thought tonight the guys did a great job. They went out, they were hungry, energetic, right away,” head coach Michael Center said on the match against Incarnate Word, thanking the program for agreeing to play on short notice. “We’re excited now to go play Georgia. You know, they’re one of the blue bloods of college tennis, one of the great programs of all-time — hosted so many championships and home of the (ITA Collegiate Tennis) Hall of Fame.”
Georgia, one of the most respected and heralded tennis programs in the country, is currently unranked, but the Bulldogs have yet to lose a home match this season. Despite Texas’ separation with Georgia in the rankings, Markes understands the Longhorns are in for a challenge as they conclude their road trip.
“The rankings are very deceiving, because they’re always a really good tennis program,” Markes said. “They have the players at all times to beat a team like us. But I think if we focus and take care of business like we’ve been doing, there’s nothing we can’t do right now.”
