The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Begins Its Fall Schedule at UTC Clay Court Invite
9/13/2018 12:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BIRMINGHAM - UAB's men's tennis team will open its season at the UTC Clay Court Invite on Friday. The tournament will be played at the Manker-Patten Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Participants in the tournament include UAB, Chattanooga, ETSU, Memphis, Tennessee Tech and Troy.
"We are very excited about starting our fall campaign," head coach Derek Tarr said. "The Chattanooga tournament will be very competitive, which is what our players need at the beginning of the season."
UAB is coming off of a season which saw the team finish with a 12-10 record. The 2017-2018 Blazers had a cumulative singles record of 62-56 (.525) and an overall doubles record of 38-20 (.655).
Junior Tom el Safadi finished with a 9-3 record last season, posting a 3-0 record in the No. 5 position and a 6-3 record in the No. 6 position. El Safadi was perfect in Conference USA singles play, boasting an exceptional 3-0 record. Fellow returner Giovani Pasini displayed versatility in representing every position except No. 1 last season. Pasini finished with an overall record of 10-11.
Fernando Vargas played in the No. 6 position for the Blazers last year and possessed a 2-1 record in that slot. Nikolai Manchev played in the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions and finished the season with a 4-6 record. Sophomore Brian Akhtar also returns for the Green and Gold.
Freshmen Daniel Janko from Pardubice, Czech Republic, and Subhash Pottipati from Boca Raton, Florida, will be the new faces on the court for the Blazers this year.
Blazer fans can click here to view the full bracket for this weekend's tournament.
For more information on UAB men's tennis, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MTEN), Instagram (@uab_mtennis) and Snapchat (@UABAthletics).
Players Mentioned
