Men's Tennis Opens Season with Four Straight Contests

PHILADELPHIA -- Temple men's tennis prepares for a busy opening week to the season as they face four teams between this Thursday and Sunday.

The Owls will begin the stretch at home on Thursday, Mar. 11 hosting Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) at TU Pavillion. Temple then hits the road and faces the next three competitions in Virginia, beginning with a matchup against George Mason on Friday, Mar. 12. The team will travel to the Folkes/Stevens Tennis Center to play Norfolk State on Saturday, Mar. 13 before concluding the trip with a match versus Old Dominion on Sunday, Mar. 14.

The Owls
> Temple is led by head coach Steve Mauro who enters his 16th season as the Temple University men's tennis head coach.
> The Owls held a 4-5 overall record last year before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
> Temple welcomes two freshmen to the team, Grégoire Baréty and Léo Raquin, as well as a junior transfer, Amine Zraidi, who played two seasons at ASA College in Miami, Fla.
> Temple returns three experienced graduate students, Juan Araoz, Eric Biscoveanu and Paolo Cucalon, along with senior Michael Haelen.
> Sophomore Marin Delmas returns for the Owls, who led the Cherry and White in singles and doubles wins during his rookie season.

Scouting FDU
> FDU is led by head coach Jeff Brandes, who is in his fifth season as head coach for the Knights.
> Temple's last matchup against FDU was in April 2019, where the Owls defeated the Knights 7-0.
> Last time out, FDU opened up conference play with a 6-1 win over Sacred Heart, claiming the doubles point and winning five of the six singles matches.
> The Knights currently hold a 1-1 record for the season after being defeated 6-1 in their season opener against Monmouth.
> FDU was picked to finish second in the NEC conference preseason poll.
> FDU returns Teodors Pukse, who led the Knights with 17 singles victories and a record of 17-7 last year.

Scouting George Mason
> George Mason men's tennis is led by head coach James (Jimmy) Davis who is in his first year as associate head coach after being the team's assistant coach in the fall.
> Temple last matched up with George Mason in Jan. 2011, defeating the Patriots 3-2.
> George Mason currently holds a 1-1 record for the season after defeating Villanova 6-1 in their season opener, but falling 0-7 last time out against VCU.
> Doubles tandem of Ryan Charles and Rithik Sardana are 2-0 to begin the season after a 6-4 defeat over VCU's Bertimon/Coulaud duo last time out.

Scouting Norfolk State
> Norfolk State debuts a new head coach this season, Larry Holmes, who previously served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Virginia Tech women's program.
> Temple last met up with Norfolk State in March 2011, defeating the Spartans 6-1.
> Norfolk State holds a 1-1 record after opening the season with a 0-7 loss to ODU, but sweeping Virginia Wesleyan 7-0 in their most recent match.
> Last season, Norfolk State went 0-5 before the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19.

Scouting ODU
> The Monarchs are led by head Coach Dominik Mueller who is in his fourth season with the program.
> Temple last faced ODU in Jan. 2019, suffering a 5-2 loss. ODU currently holds a 7-0 all-time record over the Owls.
> Old Dominion holds a 6-7 record for the 2020-21 season so far with their last competition against UAB. The Monarchs swept the Blazers by a score of 4-0.
> Last year, ODU had an impressive 11-3 record before season cancellation due to COVID-19.

Temple University Athletics

Men's Tennis Opens Season with Four Straight Contests

Players Mentioned

Juan Araoz

Eric Biscoveanu

Marin Delmas

Michael Haelen

Amine Zraidi

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