STOCKTON, Calif. – With the start of the season just a few days away, the Pacific men's tennis team prepares to host UC San Diego to kick off the dual season. The team was picked to finish sixth in the WCC, its highest preseason ranking since 2017.
"This is the most enjoyable part of the year for us," said Head Coach Robin Goodman. "We love competing, and it's even more exciting when we can do it in this team environment, playing for something bigger than ourselves."
The Tigers are led by Ran Amar, who was named to the ITA singles rankings for the first time in his career, ranked at #120 after going 7-5 during the Fall 2022 semester. Along with Amar, senior Manroop Saini and junior Peter Alam return as the Tiger's top doubles team, as the pair won six matches last season. Alam had seven singles wins in 2022, which was second on the team.
Junior Andre Rodeia joins the team from Tennessee Tech, where he burst onto the scene in his rookie season en route to an All-OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) second-team accolade. Led the Golden Eagles with 10 singles wins during the spring, going 10-5 overall.
Junior Micah Erwin joins the Tigers from American River College, where he went 29-6 over two seasons in singles and 23-11 in doubles. He is the son of women's tennis head coach Mike Erwin.
Redshirt Freshman Terence Das will compete in his first spring season with the team. Das picked up multiple singles wins during the fall season in his first action with the team. Das competed in the ITA Super Regional in the fall, reaching the semifinals.
"We have an awesome group of talent this year that will be fun to watch," continues Goodman. "We have great players back from last year, but we also have several new faces that will help elevate our program. My expectations are high for this season, but as always, our focus remains on the biggest match of the year…the next one."
Pacific competes in a singular home match to begin the season as UC San Diego travels to Stockton. The Tigers will then head on a five-match road trip which includes visits to Cal on February 2nd, Oregon on February 5th and opening the WCC slate against San Diego on February 11th.
The Tigers return home on February 17th and 18th, hosting Nevada and UC Irvine before heading back on the road to Florida, where the squad will face South Florida, Stetson and North Florida in a four-day trip.
The WCC home opener for the Tigers will double as alum day for Pacific, as the Tigers host San Francisco on Friday, March 24th. Santa Clara comes to Stockton on Saturday, March 25th.
The Tigers end the season with a four-game homestand, hosting UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary's, Portland and Gonzaga before traveling to BYU before the conference tournament.
"We would love to see many of you out there, and if you can't be here, please stay connected by following along on our live streaming!" Goodman concluded.
