University of Texas Arlington
SMU Invite
10/29/2026 7:59:00 AM | Men's Tennis
DALLAS, Texas – The UT Arlington men's tennis program closes out its fall individual season this weekend at the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge, held Oct. 30–Nov. 1 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas, Texas.
The Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge is hosted by Southern Methodist University. Match times and draw information will be posted on UTAMavs.com as they become available.
UTA arrives in Dallas after a split weekend, with Mavericks competing at the ASUN Individual Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., and the Waco Invite at Baylor University.
Mavericks to Watch
- Filip Paroulek (Sophomore) – Won three singles matches at the ASUN Individual Tournament, including a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over No. 5 seed Satoru Nakajima of North Alabama, to reach the quarterfinals. He also teamed with Finbar McGarvey to reach the doubles quarterfinals, upsetting No. 3 seeds Aron Janos Major and Daniel Marincas of North Florida along the way.
- 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. He reached the quarterfinals at the ASUN Individual Tournament, beating Bellarmine's Zachary Tabaczynski 6-4, 6-2, 10-7 in the round of 16.
- Filip Avdeev (Junior) – Entered the ASUN Individual Tournament as the No. 7 seed and beat Lipscomb's Juwan Bae 6-1, 7-6 (7) in the round of 32. He also teamed with Abdelkader to take eighth in the A Draw at the Ralph O'Connor Invitational.
- Finbar McGarvey (Junior) – Returns for his junior season after competing in 21 matches in 2025-26, with wins over UTSA (three times) and Rice. He and Paroulek reached the doubles quarterfinals at the ASUN Individual Tournament.
Additional Mavericks Showing Strong Form
- Novak Ivanovic (Sophomore) – Beat Abilene Christian's Jonas Keck 7-6 (3), 7-5 at the Waco Invite. He also teamed with Bautista Durrel Rojas to take fourth in the C Draw at the Ralph O'Connor Invitational.
- Christopher Bennett Wirahadipoernomo (Junior) – Beat Abilene Christian's Griffin Lovern 6-4, 6-0 at the Waco Invite and took the first set in a three-set match against UTSA's Joel Hansson.
- Leon Grassnickel (Senior) – Rallied past UTSA's Victor Alvares De Castro Rocha 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-1 at the Waco Invite and closed the weekend with an 8-3 doubles win alongside Wirahadipoernomo.
- Bautista Durrel Rojas (Sophomore) – Advanced to the Round of 16 in singles consolation at the ITA Texas Regional with a 6-3, 6-4 win over ACU's Jonas Keck, and teamed with Ivanovic to take fourth in the C Draw at the Ralph O'Connor Invitational.
About the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge
The Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge, hosted by SMU, gives the Mavericks one more opportunity to compete against regional programs in singles and doubles as the fall individual season comes to a close under head coach Diego Benitez.
NEXT UP
The Mavericks begin play at the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge on Friday, Oct. 30. This is UTA's final event of the fall individual season. Updated information will be available on the men's tennis schedule page at UTAMavs.com.
–#BuckEm–
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more, follow the men's tennis program on X (@utamavsmtennis), Instagram (@utamavsmtennis) and Facebook (/utamavsmtennis).
