10/15/2026 1:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON, Texas – The UT Arlington men's tennis program continues its fall individual season this weekend at the Ralph O'Connor Invitational, held October 16–18 at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston, Texas.
The Ralph O'Connor Invitational is hosted by Rice University. Match times and draw information will be posted on UTAMavs.com as they become available.
UTA arrives in Houston coming off the ITA Texas Regional in Fort Worth, where Mavericks put together encouraging results in both singles and doubles.
Returning Mavericks to Watch
- Finbar McGarvey (Junior) – Returns for his junior season after competing in 21 matches in 2025-26, with wins over UTSA (three times) and Rice. McGarvey finished third or higher in each of his last eight matches to end the season.
- Novak Ivanovic (Sophomore) – Took Incarnate Word's Santiago Flyckt to a third-set tiebreak at the ITA Texas Regional, and teamed with Christopher Bennett Wirahadipoernomo in doubles.
Newcomer to Watch
- Seifeldeen Abdelkader (Freshman) – The Cairo, Egypt, native opened his collegiate career as the No. 14 seed at the ITA Texas Regional and won both of his opening-day singles matches in straight sets. He beat Lamar's Stefano Chappuis 6-3, 6-1 and UTRGV's Loic Young 6-1, 7-5. He also teamed with Filip Avdeev to win their doubles opener 8-3.
Additional Mavericks Showing Strong Form
- Leon Grassnickel (Senior) – Rallied from a first-set deficit to beat UTRGV's Eoghan Samyn at the regional and helped UTA open doubles play with an 8-4 win alongside Filip Paroulek.
- Bautista Durrel Rojas (Sophomore) – Advanced to the Round of 16 in singles consolation with a 6-3, 6-4 win over ACU's Jonas Keck.
- Filip Avdeev (Junior) – Joined Abdelkader in reaching the doubles Round of 32 with an 8-3 win over Incarnate Word's Marcel Miralles and Agustin Salazar.
- Filip Paroulek (Sophomore) – Combined with Grassnickel on the 8-4 doubles win that moved UTA into the Round of 32.
- Christopher Bennett Wirahadipoernomo (Junior) – Teamed with Ivanovic in doubles at the regional, where the pair moved into the consolation bracket.
About the Ralph O'Connor Invitational
The Ralph O'Connor Invitational, played at the George R. Brown Tennis Center, gives the Mavericks another opportunity to compete against regional programs in singles and doubles as the fall season continues under head coach Diego Benitez.
NEXT UP
The Mavericks begin play at the Ralph O'Connor Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16. Updated information will be available on the men's tennis schedule page at UTAMavs.com.
–#BuckEm–
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For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos, and more, follow the men's tennis program on X (@utamavsmtennis), Instagram (@utamavsmtennis), and Facebook (/utamavsmtennis).
