Men's Tennis Opens Season with Three Matches in Two Days

BOONE, N.C. - The second year of the Craig Schwartz era gets underway this weekend when App State men's tennis faces three schools from Tennessee in two days.

App State will kick-off the slate at 3 p.m. on Saturday against Tennessee State before a 6 p.m. contest against Lipscomb. Both contests will take place in Nashville. The Mountaineers will conclude the weekend against Chattanooga on Sunday at 3 p.m.

About the Mountaineers

Previewing the Black and Gold
App State put forth an overhaul in the roster when coach Schwartz brought in five newcomers with the five returners from last season. Milo Bargeron and Zion Heaven are back after leading the team in singles wins, while Campbell Stone is back for a final season following a year in which he amassed a personal-high seven doubles victories. Alex Pavkovich and Blake Carter bring veteran experience as two of the upperclassmen on the squad. 

Who is New?
Two transfers in Matvey Radionov (Nevada) and Aleksandar Petrovic (Samford) are expected to contribute right away. Radionov spent one season with the Wolfpack, where he registered 19 career wins in singles and 11 doubles victories. Last season, he tied for second in singles victories during the spring. He helped Nevada finish 11-11 in 2018-19.  In two stellar years with the Bulldogs, Petrovic posted a 27-11 mark in singles. The highest UTR rating Petrovic posted was a 12.79. In his freshman year, Petrovic went 15-5 in singles en route to landing on the All-SoCon First Team Singles team and All-SoCon Freshman Team.

Freshmen Class
Landon Church was the 10th-rated prospect out of North Carolina and a top-100 recruit in the Southeast region. He posted a stellar 42-2 mark throughout his high school career. In his most recent outing at the USTA Southern Level 1A Championships BG 16 & 18, he won his last match in a three-set affair against Matthew Sloan.

Alessio Azzalini came in rated as a 12 on the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) scale. The future Mountaineer is 10-8 in singles according to UTR, highlighted by an impressive run to the semifinals at the Nazmi Bari Cup in the Main Draw. Azzalini's highest UTR rating for his career was a 12.34. In his most recent tournament at the Bolles BJTCC Winter UTR Tournament, he defeated Tripp Tuff in straight sets. Azzalini was ranked as high as 789 in the World ITF Junior rankings.

Karan Srivastava was rated as a 12 on the UTR scale, while his highest rating was 12.32. In 2018, he posted a 6-6 record with three of his wins in the Main Draw of the ASG Junior Tennis Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals. Srivastava posted a ranking as high as 204 in the world in the ITF Junior World rankings. For his singles career in ITF, he notched a 62-47 record.

App State had a successful fall winning multiple titles in singles and doubles. The Apps are poised to make a leap this spring.

Scouting Tennessee State
TSU went 5-10 last season. Four of the Tigers' wins leaders are back in Leadros Misdrachis (5 wins), Juan Rojas Antezana (5 wins), Larry Sloan (4 wins) and Stefan Koruga (4 wins). Koruga and Misdrachis led the team in doubles wins with four. The TSU roster boasts two seniors, two juniors and three sophomores.

Scouting Lipscomb
Lipscomb was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Sun Preseason poll after finishing last season with a 7-14 mark. Victor Chaw and Pablo Caffarena lead the team going into this season. The pair went to the Oracle ITA Fall championships. Last season, they finished 12-4 as a pairing. Also, Chaw finished 11-7 in singles and Caffarena 10-8. Six of the eight players on the team are either a senior or junior. Lipscomb returns its top six wins leaders and top doubles teams.

Scouting Chattanooga
 The Mocs posted a 14-11 mark while boasting a solid 10-5 record at home. UTC brings back nine letterwinners and five starters. Niklas Gerdes is back after leading the team with a 16-8 record in singles at the top spot. Kerim Hyatt is also back following a 14-win campaign. Tomas Rodriguez was second with 15 victories, giving the Mocs three of their top singles wins leaders. Simon Bustamante and Hyatt were 14-7 to lead the doubles attack.

What's Next
The team will have an extended break when it faces Virginia Tech in three weeks on Feb. 8 in Blacksburg, Va.