MT: Nuez set for NCAA Singles Championship
5/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
NCAA Championship Central | Bracket
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The 2018 Sun Belt Player of the Year is set to open his stay in the NCAA Singles Championship as No. 98 Guanarteme Nuez takes the court on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT against No. 7-seeded Borna Gojo from host Wake Forest.
The best-of-three set match is a part of 32 matches that open the first round of the NCAA Championships. The single-elimination tournament is hosted by Wake Forest at the Wake Forest Tennis Center and runs between May 23 and May 28 with a match each day.
"I am very excited to travel to North Carolina to play against some of the best players in the nation," Nuez said. "I want to go there to see my level and see how I am in that range to be a professional."
Capturing the leagues top award after an exciting campaign, Nuez enters the 64-man tournament with a 25-6 overall record, going 19-3 in dual match play. The nod earned the junior a selection as well to the league's All-Conference first team. Nuez was named the B.G. Wilson Scholar-Athlete of the Year recently at the annual UTA Awards Banquet.
For UTA coach Diego Benitez, the accomplishment and chance at hand isn't a surprise, but was more of a long-term goal for his star play to compete at the highest level this season. Nuez earned several top-ranked wins during the season and helped the Mavs battle it out amongst the Texas Region's best.
"It is awesome," Benitez said. "He has been looking forward to it so much. He told me in September that he was going to get into nationals, so the amount of work that he put in throughout the whole year. He was determined to do it. I am so proud and excited about him representing the University and the Sun Belt Conference. Hopefully we can go out and get some good results."
