SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 5, 2024) - The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's tennis team begins the fall season on Friday after a successful 2023-2024 campaign. Dave Watts is back for his third season as head coach. 

2023-2024 season recap

The Saints were ranked in the top 25 multiple times last season and went 19-8. They were 11-2 when playing at the Blossom Tennis Center. The squad won 11 straight matches from Feb. 25-March 29. They also defeated multiple NCAA D2 programs. OLLU lost in the NAIA Unaffiliated Tournament championship match to Xavier University of Louisiana after defeating Lewis-Clark State College in the semifinals. 

Preseason ranking

The Saints are ranked No. 18 to start the season. This is the highest ranking the team has received in program history. The Saints were voted as high as No. 20 last season.

Returners and newcomers

Kyllian Savary is the lone senior that will lead the team this season. Aymeric Bruno joins the team from France and is a graduate student who formerly played at the College of Coastal Georgia. Luis Hernandez returns as a junior, while Joshua Alarcon, Joao Victor Castro, David Ekpenyong, Paulo Goncalves Ceolin, Jaroslav Majsajdr and Caleb Olen are back for their sophomore seasons. Matis Nuziere and Oliver Hopper will begin their Saints career as freshmen. Nuziere is from Vienne, Austria, while Hopper hails from Portsmouth in England. 

Savary is currently ranked 14th in the ITA in singles. Ekpenyong is in the 50th spot in singles and when playing with Savary in doubles, they rank 25th.

Fall schedule

The Saints will begin the fall season at the St. Mary's Invite from Sept. 6-9. The schools competing are OLLU, St. Mary's University, Schreiner University, Texas Lutheran University, Lubbock Christian University, Western New Mexico University, Trinity University and Texas A&M University Kingsville. The next match is a week later on Sept. 13 versus Trinity University in an exhibition at the Butch Newman Tennis Center. The fall schedule concludes with ITA Regionals in New Orleans from Sept. 27-29 and ITA Nationals in Rome, Ga., from Oct. 10-13. 

GPA award

The men's tennis team earned a 3.55 GPA last semester. Watts said, "We encourage players to have good grades in order to be able to play. We try to recruit good people and stress academics. It's ultimately up to them to get the work done and that there is life beyond tennis with priorities."

Hear from Head Coach Dave Watts as he discusses the 2024-2025 season: