Roos Host WAC Cluster, Play for Regular Season Title this Weekend
4/7/2016 1:14:00 PM | Men's Tennis
This Week and Up Next
UMKC men's tennis (11-6, 2-0 WAC) has a big week as it hosts the final WAC Cluster with a chance to win the WAC regular season title, facing New Mexico State, UTRGV and Grand Canyon. The following week they will close the regular season with three non-conference matches.
Friday - UMKC vs. NMSU at 1 pm (Plaza Tennis Center)
Saturday - UMKC vs. UTRGV at 9 am
Sunday - UMKC vs. Grand Canyon at 1 pm
The Opponents
New Mexico State, the defending WAC champions, enter the week at 6-9 overall and 2-1 in WAC play. They are led by a deep lineup including Christofer Goncalves with 18 wins, playing at the No. 2 position, while Enrique Asmar also has 18 wins, playing at No. 6. The Roos are 0-3 against the Aggies all-time though, dropping last year's meeting 4-3.
UTRGV is 10-12 overall, and 1-2 in the WAC win losses to NMSU and GCU. They are led by one of the top players in the league in Juan Cruz Soria, who is 19-9 overall at the No. 1 position. The Roos are also 0-3 against the Vaqueros all-time, falling in two tight matches last season.
Grand Canyon is in first place with a 3-0 record, and is 12-7 overall. They are led by a strong middle lineup, paced by Mathieu Rajaonah with a 14-2 record at No. 4. The Roos are 0-2 against the Lopes, falling 6-1 last season.
All-Time Charts
The Roos have four current players ranked in the singles all-time chart with Andrey Smirnov and Mike Psarros ranked sixth all-time with 43 wins, while Airam Castellano is 11th at 39 and Vinh Pham is 13th with 38. For a single season, Castellano broke the school record last week with his 20th win, while Amaury Navette is second with 19 wins. Psarros is also in the top 10 with 18 victories.
In doubles play, Psarros has 44 wins to rank tied for third, while Uldis Gaismins is seventh with 42 victories, and Smirnov is 10th with 39. For a single season, Castellano and Psarros each have 17 victories, tied for seventh.
Roos in the NCAA's
UMKC's has six appearances overall in the NCAA Tournament, falling to USC (1999), UCLA (2000), Baylor (2009), Texas (2011), Oklahoma (2012) and UCLA (2013) in the first round.
WAC Honors
UMKC has been honored by the WAC twice this year, with Airam Castellano earning Player of the Month honors back in October, and Mike Psarros grabbing Player of the Week accolades on March 1.
Head Coach Kendell Hale
Kendell Hale is in his ninth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. Overall, the 2015-16 season is Hale's 22nd as a collegiate head coach, where he has compiled a 419-340 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 77-117 at UMKC, while boasting a 107-88 mark with the men.
Hale has orchestrated an amazing turnaround with the men's and women's tennis programs since joining the department in 2008. He has guided both the men's and women's squads to numerous school-record win totals and has produced four conference regular season titles, four conference tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also selected at the 2010 USTPA National Coach of the Year for his turnaround effort, as well as 2009 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year, the 2011 Summit League Men's Coach of the Year, and 2013 SL Women's Coach of the Year.
In eight seasons at the helm, Hale has coached 29 all-league honorees on the men's side and 16 all-league selections on the women's side. He's also coached three Conference Players of the Year and three League Newcomers of the Year.
He has also coached the nine winningest players in school history on the women's side, and four of the five top career win leaders on the men's side.
Players Mentioned
