University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Playing Hawai'i on Spring Break
3/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The University of Minnesota Gophers have been spending their spring break down in Hawai'i and will face the Rainbow Warriors this Friday at 8 p.m. (CT).
"We are training hard and taking advantage of some great weather here in Kailua," head coach Geoff Young said. "Conditioning has ranged from running on the beach to hiking. We are looking forward to playing Hawai'i. It should be a fun match and we will be ready to battle."
This will be the final nonconference match of the year before they get into the heart of the Big Ten season.
The Gophers will have had two weeks off without a match coming into Friday. Last time out they dropped two tough matches against ranked opponents in Oregon and Washington.
The Lineup
Matic Spec has picked up three wins in his last four matches at the No. 1 spot where he has been all but one match this season. He has an overall record of 10-8 so far.
Ruben Weber has a team leading 14-8 singles record. He is 6-4 at the No. 2 and 7-5 this dual match season.
Felix Corwin, Josip Krstanovic and Justyn Levin have all moved around in the middle of the lineup. Corwin started the season with matches at the No. 1 and 2 spots but missed some time with an injury. He currently sits with a 9-9 overall record. Levin has won a match at all three spots and is 9-12 while Krstanovic has picked up two wins in both the three and the four spot.
Marino Alpeza has played primarily at the No. 5 and 6 spots and is 11-10 this season. Jeremy Lynn has picked up a two wins at the No. 6 spot.
Doubles
The Gophers duo of Spec and Corwin have proven to be one of the nation's top doubles team. They are ranked No. 18 and sit as the second-highest ranked Big Ten doubles tandem. They have picked up two wins this season over now No. 9 Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash and are 7-3 overall.
Recently Spec and Lynn have teamed up and looking strong together and are 5-3 this season. Levin and Krstanovic have proven to be a tough tandem and hold a 5-4 doubles record.
Alpeza and Weber have played the most matches in the No. 1 spot with a 6-7 record together. The Gophers have taken the doubles point in eight of their 14 matches.
About Hawai'i
Hawaii holds a 1-7 overall record, earning a win against Sacramento State. Four of the overall losses were against ranked opponents.
The doubles pair of Felix Albert and Kai Wehnelt are 2-3 at the No. 1 spot, with one match going unfinished. Albert is 1-5 at the No. 1 singles spot, with two matches going unfinished. Wehnelt is 3-1 at the No. 2 singles spot (two matches unfinished), holding a team-best record.
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Players Mentioned
