JC exceeds expectations for first fall tennis outing

In their first meet of the fall season, the Jacksonville Jaguars men’s tennis team competed against 10 teams at the Tyler Invitational, co-hosted by Tyler Junior College and UT-Tyler, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 6-7.

“The returning players and new recruits have worked extremely hard on their fitness and their games during the off-season and we are expecting an incredible season at Jacksonville College,” Head Coach Jonathan Becker stated previous to the meet.

Coach Becker reported the Jaguar men’s team had some success over larger schools such as UT Tyler, Dallas Baptist University and Southwestern.

Becker stated his No.3, Andre Guedes de Melo, made the singles final in his flight. He defeated Southwestern and UT Tyler before falling to Southern Arkansas.

Jacksonville’s No. 2, David Perez De La Fuente was able to challenge the No. 1 ranked TJC player, although the result was a loss (7-5, 6-0).

The women’s team was reported to have contested against Seward.

“Going up against the reigning No. 3 team in the nation for NJCAA [National Junior College Athletic Association] isn’t an easy task in your first college tournament,” Becker stated. “I was proud of them for fighting.”

The Jaguars will travel to Dallas for the Collin College Invitational Friday-Saturday, Sept. 13-14.

“For our first tournament of the season we exceeded our own expectations,” Becker commented. “We are looking forward to our tournament this weekend with UT Dallas and Collin College to build on our previous performance.”

Jacksonville College Jaguar tennis’s remaining schedule for fall tennis includes:

- Sept. 17, Jacksonville College Men at ETBU, Marshall;

- Sept. 20-22, JUCO Fall Regional, Tyler; and

- Sept. 24, Jacksonville College Women at ETBU, Marshall.