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Men's Tennis
vs Utah Invitational
Thursday, February 13
Denver, CO
5:00 PM
University of Utah
at
Denver
Photo by: Steve Kinslow
Utah Men's Tennis Prepares For Pair of Road Matches
2/11/2020 11:19 AM | Men's Tennis
Utes set for road matches against Denver and New Mexico.
FIRST SERVE
Utah men's tennis (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12) will hit the road this week, first taking on Denver (7-0, 0-0 Summit League) on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Denver Tennis Park at 5 p.m. MT. Live stats against Denver will be available here. The Utes will then wrap up the road trip with a match in Albuquerque, N.M. when they face off against New Mexico (2-4, 0-0 Mountain West) on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m. MT at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
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HOME SWEET HOME
The Utes have had a hot start at home this season and have launched the 2020 home slate with a perfect 7-0 record at the Eccles Tennis Center. Utah has established a significant home-court advantage in recent years and since the start of the 2015 season, Utah has posted a combined record of 56-16 on their home courts. Between the stretch of 11 home matches in a span of 13 total matches, Utah picked up five straight home wins to gain momentum before heading out on the road for this weekend's matches. Â
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DOUBLES DOMINATING
Through nine matches, Utah has been able to get an early lead over their opponents and claim the doubles point in eight of the nine matches this season. Leading the Utes, juniors Russell Benkaim and Randy Cory have fought in the top spot for Utah and hold a 6-3 record, which includes the duo currently running on a five-match win streak. At the No. 3 spot, seniors Azat Hankuliyev and Slava Shainyan have also been very consistent for Utah in doubles play, as they now have a 6-1 record as a duo on the season. Rounding out Ute doubles teams, freshmen Franco Capalbo and Wally Thayne have made immediate impacts to the program and won four straight matches to open the season for Utah and hold a 4-2 record in the No. 2 slot.
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SCOUTING DENVER
The Denver men's tennis team comes into their match against Utah with a perfect 7-0 record to start the season. Denver has wins this season over Weber State and Utah State, as do the Utes. Â Denver is led by junior Matt Summers, who holds the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for the Pioneers. Summers was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Jan. 28. Last season, Utah swept Denver 4-0 at home where singles wins from Slava Shainyan, Russell Benkaim, and Mathias Gavelin won the match for Utah. Benkaim and Azat Hankuliyev also contributed doubles wins on their respective courts to earn the doubles point.
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SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
The New Mexico men's tennis team has started off the 2020 year with a record of 2-4. The Lobos earned their first win of the season in a 4-3 thriller over BYU, while following up with a 6-1 win against Northern Colorado. The Lobos are led by senior Dominic West, who currently holds the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for New Mexico. West was an All-Mountain West selection in singles after the 2018-19 season. Last year, Utah downed New Mexico 4-2 at home. Mathias Gavelin and Azat Hankuliyev eached earned singles wins to add to Utah's victory.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Utes are coming off an undefeated day at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center last Friday, coming out victorious against both Utah State and Idaho State. Against Utah State, the duos of Benkaim/Cory and Shainyan/Hankuliyev were able to do their part with wins on their respective courts to seal the doubles point. Capalbo, Benkaim, Shainyan, Thayne, and Paul McCallie, all then carded victories in singles, giving Utah the 6-1 victory over the Aggies.
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Against Idaho State, the duos of Benkaim/Cory and Shainyan/Hankuliyev picked up where they left off and once again tallied victories on their respective courts to give Utah the doubles point. To then finish off the Bengals, Benkaim, Thayne, and Capalbo each notched quick victories in singles to give Utah the 4-0 sweep over Idaho State and improve the season record to 7-2.
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UP NEXT
The Ute men's tennis team will be back in action next week to host three home matches at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. Utah will first face off against Iowa on Friday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. MT, followed by a pair of matches on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Utes are set to matchup against Montana State at 10 a.m. MT, followed by a match against Southern Utah at 4 p.m. MT.
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Utah men's tennis (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12) will hit the road this week, first taking on Denver (7-0, 0-0 Summit League) on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Denver Tennis Park at 5 p.m. MT. Live stats against Denver will be available here. The Utes will then wrap up the road trip with a match in Albuquerque, N.M. when they face off against New Mexico (2-4, 0-0 Mountain West) on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 1:30 p.m. MT at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
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HOME SWEET HOME
The Utes have had a hot start at home this season and have launched the 2020 home slate with a perfect 7-0 record at the Eccles Tennis Center. Utah has established a significant home-court advantage in recent years and since the start of the 2015 season, Utah has posted a combined record of 56-16 on their home courts. Between the stretch of 11 home matches in a span of 13 total matches, Utah picked up five straight home wins to gain momentum before heading out on the road for this weekend's matches. Â
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DOUBLES DOMINATING
Through nine matches, Utah has been able to get an early lead over their opponents and claim the doubles point in eight of the nine matches this season. Leading the Utes, juniors Russell Benkaim and Randy Cory have fought in the top spot for Utah and hold a 6-3 record, which includes the duo currently running on a five-match win streak. At the No. 3 spot, seniors Azat Hankuliyev and Slava Shainyan have also been very consistent for Utah in doubles play, as they now have a 6-1 record as a duo on the season. Rounding out Ute doubles teams, freshmen Franco Capalbo and Wally Thayne have made immediate impacts to the program and won four straight matches to open the season for Utah and hold a 4-2 record in the No. 2 slot.
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SCOUTING DENVER
The Denver men's tennis team comes into their match against Utah with a perfect 7-0 record to start the season. Denver has wins this season over Weber State and Utah State, as do the Utes. Â Denver is led by junior Matt Summers, who holds the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for the Pioneers. Summers was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Jan. 28. Last season, Utah swept Denver 4-0 at home where singles wins from Slava Shainyan, Russell Benkaim, and Mathias Gavelin won the match for Utah. Benkaim and Azat Hankuliyev also contributed doubles wins on their respective courts to earn the doubles point.
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SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
The New Mexico men's tennis team has started off the 2020 year with a record of 2-4. The Lobos earned their first win of the season in a 4-3 thriller over BYU, while following up with a 6-1 win against Northern Colorado. The Lobos are led by senior Dominic West, who currently holds the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for New Mexico. West was an All-Mountain West selection in singles after the 2018-19 season. Last year, Utah downed New Mexico 4-2 at home. Mathias Gavelin and Azat Hankuliyev eached earned singles wins to add to Utah's victory.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Utes are coming off an undefeated day at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center last Friday, coming out victorious against both Utah State and Idaho State. Against Utah State, the duos of Benkaim/Cory and Shainyan/Hankuliyev were able to do their part with wins on their respective courts to seal the doubles point. Capalbo, Benkaim, Shainyan, Thayne, and Paul McCallie, all then carded victories in singles, giving Utah the 6-1 victory over the Aggies.
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Against Idaho State, the duos of Benkaim/Cory and Shainyan/Hankuliyev picked up where they left off and once again tallied victories on their respective courts to give Utah the doubles point. To then finish off the Bengals, Benkaim, Thayne, and Capalbo each notched quick victories in singles to give Utah the 4-0 sweep over Idaho State and improve the season record to 7-2.
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UP NEXT
The Ute men's tennis team will be back in action next week to host three home matches at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. Utah will first face off against Iowa on Friday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. MT, followed by a pair of matches on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Utes are set to matchup against Montana State at 10 a.m. MT, followed by a match against Southern Utah at 4 p.m. MT.
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Players Mentioned
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