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Inclement Weather Moves DePaul Matches Up at Rice Invitational
3/4/2026 10:54:00 PM | MEN'S TENNIS
Men’s tennis travels to Houston for matches against Rice and UABde
HOUSTON, TEXAS – DePaul men's tennis will see its weekend schedule adjusted due to anticipated inclement weather in Houston, with matches at the 67th Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational moved up one day.
The Blue Demons will now face Rice on Thursday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. CT at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in DePaul's first outdoor matches of the 2026 season. The match was originally scheduled for Friday morning. DePaul will then take on Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) in a neutral-site contest on Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m. CT in Houston after that match was moved up from Saturday.
Blue Demon Breakdown
DePaul enters the weekend 3-7 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play after competing at the George Lott Classic at XS Tennis Village. The Blue Demons opened the event with a 4-1 victory over No. 62 Cal Poly, marking the program's first win over a nationally ranked opponent since 2015, before defeating Army 4-0 later the same day.
Graduate student Alejandro Gandini led the effort from the top of the lineup, going 3-0 in singles during the invitational and extending his winning streak to four matches. Gandini was named BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week on Monday after clinching the match against Cal Poly and adding another straight-set victory against Army. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year now owns 43 career singles wins and 47 doubles victories while anchoring a Blue Demon lineup that has won three of its last four matches.
Rice Notes – Owl Outlook
- Host of the 67th Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
- Rice's doubles team of Santiago Navarro / Petro Kuzmenok is nationally ranked (No. 82).
- Appeared in the ITA national rankings twice this spring, checking in at No. 62 (Feb. 19) and No. 71 (Feb. 24).
- Petro Kuzmenok leads the Owls with a 5–2 record in dual singles play this season.
- Rice holds 5–2 records at both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions in dual matches.
- The Owls pushed No. 8 Baylor to a 4–3 decision earlier this week in Houston.
- Led by 2025 AAC Coach of the Year Efe Ustundag, who guided Rice to the AAC championship and NCAA Tournament appearance last season.
- Thursday's matchup will mark the first meeting between Rice and DePaul in program history.
UAB Notes – Blazer Bites
- UAB has earned spring dual wins over Tennessee State (6-1), Auburn Montgomery (6-1), and Samford (5-2).
- The Blazers' early schedule has included matches against Memphis, Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee, ETSU, South Carolina State, and South Alabama.
- Conor Flynn leads UAB with a 6–3 singles record and enters the weekend on a five-match winning streak.
- The doubles team of Juan Pablo Valdez and Ondrej Valek owns a 5–2 record, UAB's most successful pairing this season.
- UAB most recently defeated Samford 5-2 before falling 5-2 at South Alabama in its latest match.
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Players Mentioned
