THIS WEEK IN RATTLERS TENNIS
Lone Star Conference Championship • Arlington Tennis Center
April 30 • First Round vs #25 Midwestern State • 12 p.m.
May 1 • Semifinals • 12 p.m.
May 2 • Finals • 12 p.m.
• The St. Mary's Men's Tennis team will compete at the Lone Star Conference Tournament after finishing fifth during the regular season. The Rattlers return after not qualifying in 2025, and will play Midwestern State for the second-straight match, facing the Mustangs at Noon in the First Round on Thursday at Noon.
• The Rattlers are 1-3 all-time at the Lone Star Tournament and are looking to snap a three-match losing skid. This will be the second time in school history StMU has met MSU in the tournament, with the Mustangs winning 4-0 in the semifinals in 2022.
• Midwestern State holds a commanding 24-1 lead in the all-time series against St. Mary's, and has won the last six in the series, which started in 2001. The lone win for the Rattlers came in 2021 in the NCAA South Central Regional.
• St. Mary's ended conference play with a 4-4 record, and enter the Lone Star Tournament with a 14-6 overall record.
• Both senior Aaron Ben Anton and junior Leonardo Fabbri reached double digit singles wins in duals during the final week of the regular season. Anton is now 10-6, while Fabbri is 10-7, and they join Lucas Castillo Sanchez (14-4) and Nikita Gavrilonoks (12-7) as players with double figure victories.
• Freshman Victor Velter remains the only player on the team in double digits wins in doubles action, leading the team with an 11-7 record. Both Lucas Castillo Sanchez and Nikita Gavrilonoks need one more win to hit the 10-win threshold.
• Eight different Rattlers have won the fourth and decisive point this season, with freshman Nikita Gavrilonoks leading the way with four clinching wins. Diego Alvarez, Lucas Castillo Sanchez and Leonardo Fabbri have all done so twice.
• The 12-3 start to the season for the Rattlers ties the best 15-match start in school history, matching the start of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 teams. The 2020-21 team finished 14-5, while 2021-22 was 17-7 and both advanced to the NCAA South Central Regional.
• Sophomore Lucas Castillo Sanchez was named the Lone Star Conference Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks on March 5 and March 12. Castillo Sanchez was named the St. Mary's Male Co-Breakout Athlete of the Year at the Fang Awards on Monday evening, and was a candidate for Athlete of the Year, while Nikita Gavrilonoks was a candidate for Rookie of the Year and Florian Smalto was a candidate for Newcomer of the Year.
