No. 63 Troy Opens With Three Ranked Matches

TROY, Alabama – The No. 63 Troy men's tennis team opens one of the nation's toughest schedules on Friday when it travels to No. 36 Louisville for an 11 a.m. match.

Troy will then travel to No. 24 Florida on Sunday and No. 19 Ole Miss on Tuesday to complete a stretch of three road matches against ranked teams in five days.

Troy, the defending Sun Belt Champions, return all but player from last year's team that went 25-7 and made the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

The Trojans are led by Hassan Ndayishimiye who posted a 22-6 singles record last season and was a First Team All-Sun Belt selection in singles. Troy's lone departure from last season is Gabriel Dias who was also a First Team All-Sun Belt singles selection.

Giovani Samaha, a Second Team All-Sun Belt singles selection last season, led the Trojans this fall with an 8-3 singles record that included two wins over ranked opponents. Samaha also picked up a ranked doubles win with Pablo Moreno as the pair went 5-3 in the fall.

Troy returns a third All-Sun Belt selection from last season in Andy Lau who is now a sophomore after competing at No. 3 singles last season as a freshman.

The Troy roster features eight newcomers, including a Louisville transfer in Stjepan Cagalj who could see action against his former team.

Louisville went 23-9 last season and lost in the NCAA First Round to Drake. The 36^th-ranked Cardinals have the No. 108 singles player and No. 57 doubles team in the nation.

Florida went 14-9 last season and also lost in the NCAA First Round, falling to Pepperdine. The 24^th-ranked Gators have No. 31, No. 49, No. 62, No. 91 and No. 97 ranked singles players in the nation. They also have the No. 3 and No. 40 doubles teams.

Ole Miss went 18-9 last season and hosted NCAA First and Second Round matches. The Rebels beat Alabama State in the first round, but fell to Columbia in the second round. The 19^th-ranked Rebels have the nation's No. 36 singles player and No. 31 doubles team.

Following the opening three matches, Troy will travel to Oklahoma for the prestigious ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Joining the Trojans and No. 2 Sooners in the event will be No. 66 UTSA and No. 70 Utah State.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat by searching for Troy Athletics.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Stjepan Cagalj

Gabriel Dias

Andy Lau

Pablo Moreno

Hassan Ndayishimiye

Giovani Samaha