Men's Tennis Matches 6, 7 & 8

Friday, February 2 at UNLV @ 2 pm Las Vegas, NV Saturday, February 3 vs Weber State University @ 10 am Las Vegas, NV Saturday, February 3 vs New Mexico State University @ 2 pm Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas, NV—The UC Riverside Men's Tennis Team (2-3) travels to Las Vegas, NV this weekend for three contests. The Highlanders will face the UNLV Rebels Friday at 2 pm, the Weber State Wildcats Saturday at 10 am, and the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday at 2 pm. 

The Highlanders have fallen in every match with the Rebels since their first meeting on March 1, 2004. UNLV recorded 19-9 in 2016-17, and was 12-3 in home matches. The Rebels currently hold a 1-1 record for 2018. 

UC Riverside last defeated Weber State on March 24, 2012, 4-3 (Recap). Weber State stands 1-2 in 2018, and is on a two match losing streak. Last season, the Wildcats were 8-12 overall. 

In last year's match-up with the New Mexico State Aggies, the Highlanders fell in Las Vegas, NV (4-0) (Recap). Two meetings ago, the Highlanders eked out a close victory (4-3) against the Aggies on February 6, 2016 (Recap). The Aggies are currently 2-1 in 2018.

LAST WEEK
The Highlanders notched their second victory of 2018 on Saturday against #13 Westmont, 7-0 (Recap). Division II #15 UC San Diego eked out a 4-3 win against UCR in Saturday's afternoon match.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nabil Abdallah was named Big West Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week for his play against Westmont and UC San Diego last week (Recap). Abdallah is undefeated in singles at the No. 4 position (5-0), and is 4-1 in #3 doubles with partner Anderson Ju. 

NEW YEAR, NEW RECORD
Head Coach Mattias Johansson returns for his third season with the Highlanders. In his first year, the Highlanders won a Division I program record 13 matches, went 10-5 at home, and saw seniors Julian Ruffin and Sean Robles named All-Conference Honorable Mention. In Johansson's second year at UC Riverside, the Highlanders set a new Division I program record with 14 match wins and went 9-7 at home.

RETURNERS
Juniors Kyle McCann and Anderson Ju lead a team with three returning Sophomores and five new Freshmen. McCann recorded 15 singles victories in his Freshman season—the third-most in the history of the program since joining the Big West in the 2001-2002 season. Last year, McCann charted wins in nine of his 16 doubles matches, partnered with returning Sophomore Max Cohen for all but the first match. 

Anderson Ju tallied 13 wins during his Freshman season—the fifth highest total on the team's Division I charts. Ju recorded another nine singles wins during his Sophomore season last year. 

Gilbert Chung returns for his second season after being named SAAC Male Freshman of the Year for his record 20 singles matches last season against only nine losses, setting the program record for singles victories in a season. Chung was also named to the All-Conference Team and named Honorable Mention for his play in doubles.