BRONCS, LADY BRONCS SET SPRING TENNIS SCHEDULES
For Immediate Release: Monday, 12 January 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

EDINBURG, TX-A schedule featuring some of the top teams in the region awaits The University of Texas-Pan American's men's and women's tennis teams this season.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs will play some strong competition that will allow them to face some of the better teams in the region, while also having the chance to compete against teams from outside the area.

"I'm excited about our schedule," said UTPA Head Coach Eduardo Provencio. "We play some good teams, and it's nice to have some home matches. We hope to continue to expand our home schedule in the future, and give people the opportunity to come out and support us."

After beginning the season by playing Texas-El Paso in San Antonio and then traveling to Stephen F. Austin to meet the Lady Jacks, Northwestern State and Sam Houston State, the Lady Broncs return to the Cox Tennis Center to open a four-match home stand. Texas-Pan American will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Laredo College, Abilene Christian and Texas Southern before hitting the road again.

The Lady Broncs will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida to play Wyoming, Jacksonville, Long Island University and Bethune-Cookman, before returning home to play Air Force. After a trip to Texas Southern and Lamar, the Lady Broncs will wrap up their schedule by traveling to Corpus Christi to play fellow independents Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and Northern Colorado as well as the host Islanders.

"It's great to have home matches with teams like Air Force," said Provencio. "We will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in February, and Abilene Christian and Texas Southern in March. We were able to put the trip to Florida together because of (Assistant Coach) Kati's (Gyulai) connection with Wyoming. It will give us a chance to play teams we don't normally see. We have a good rivalry with Corpus, and it's a nice thing to look forward to. Our schedule will give us a good idea of where we are, and where we need to be next year."

The men begin play next Monday, facing national power Texas A&M and Division III power Trinity. After a weekend trip to Eastern Kentucky, the Broncs face Saint Louis in San Antonio before beginning a five-match home stand.

They will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Laredo College, Abilene Christian, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern before hitting the road again to begin Southland Conference play at Texas-San Antonio. Texas-Arlington is the lone conference opponent to visit the Cox Tennis Center this year, and the Broncs host them on Sunday, April 4th. Texas-Pan American will complete SLC play when they play Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana and Texas A&M-CC on the road before they travel to San Antonio for the conference championships, which begin April 30th.

"Texas A&M is a very good team, and we'll begin our season against them," said Provencio. "Our trip to Kentucky will give us a chance to play some teams that we don't normally see, and those matches will be indoors. A lot of our players played indoor tennis growing up, but they haven't played indoors for a while. The Southland Conference will be very competitive, especially with the addition of Corpus Christi, which is a big rival. I think everyone in the conference has improved. Texas-Arlington is very strong, and it will be nice to have them at home."

The men will begin play next Monday against Texas A&M and Trinity. The women will start play when they play Texas-El Paso in San Antonio February 6th.

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