MT: UTA vs. Oklahoma - NCAA Regional Preview
5/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
UT Arlington (18-10) vs. No. 11 Oklahoma (15-10)
Friday, May 13 (4 p.m.) | Norman, Okla. | Headington Family Tennis Center
UTA Notes | NCAA Regional Central | Tickets
By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike
ARLINGTON, Texas - Playing in one of the toughest regions in the country, the difficult task ahead is not anything new for UT Arlington men's tennis. The Mavericks head to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 when they take on No. 11 Oklahoma on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Mavericks, winners of a record-setting 18 matches, head to Norman in their first matchup against the Sooners (15-10) since 2008. Oklahoma owns the head-to-head series at 7-3, with UTA's last win coming over the Big 12 foe in 2002.
"We can't wait to get up there," UT Arlington coach Diego Benitez said. "They have the motivation to do well and continue the performance. Hopefully we can get up there and take it one point and one match at a time and put in a solid performance. Doubles is going to be huge as they are a very good singles team. It will be a critical part of the match."
UTA's trek to its fifth appearance in the national tournament comes on the heels of three upsets through the Sun Belt Championship in April. The Mavs defeated No. 4 seed Louisiana, No. 1 Georgia State (58th in the ITA/Oracle Collegiate Rankings) and No. 2 South Alabama in the championship match. The 11th-ranked Sooners are the ninth national-ranked squad that UTA will meet on the court this season, and the Mavs are 2-6 against ranked teams thus far.
Behind the leadership of its captain Carlos Arbiza, it has been a mix of experience and youth to guide UTA into position of potentially winning its first NCAA Tournament match after going 0-4 all-time.
"Everyone is feeling really good," Arbiza said. "We are going to travel there and give all out. We know how they play, we saw how they made the NCAAs last year and we will do whatever it is we need to do in practice to fight against them."
Arbiza is 18-6 this season in singles, is 58-47 in his career and features a 12-match winning streak. The juniors have been equally as impressive in their various forms. Daniel Armengol is 15-4 in singles and a team-best 16-8 doubles record with Jhonathan Gonzalez. Mario Muniesa, the team's match clincher in the title bout, is 15-10.
The dangerousness of UTA's attack has come from the momentum building from the freshmen. Mauricio Del Rio, playing with Arbiza in doubles, has joined with Guanarteme Nuez to be a pivotal one-two punch in the draw. Nuez has taken over UTA's top spot in singles and won all three matches in the conference tournament.
The winner of Friday's matchup will advance to the region final on Saturday at 1 p.m. to face either Oregon or Tulsa.
Notes: UTA is 9-57 all-time against Big 12 opponents. Its lone Big 12 opponent in 2016 was No. 2 TCU, a match the Mavs dropped 4-0 on April 1. … UTA fell to Texas A&M in its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the College Station Regional in 2006. … UTA coach Diego Benitez is 127-106 in his career.
