Cajuns Hit Road To Face No. 57 Iowa, No. 29 Drake

ITA Men's Division I National Rankings (Feb. 24)
Live Scoring at No. 57 Iowa
Live Scoring at No. 29 Drake

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana' Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team broke back into the ITA national rankings this week at No. 75 and will have a chance to move up even higher after this weekend as they hit the road to face a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on Friday at Iowa and on Saturday at Drake.

The Cajuns (6-5) - who opened the season ranked No. 66 in the nation before falling out of the rakings, despite competition that included four nationally-ranked opponents in its first seven matches - cracked the rankings once again at No. 75 this week on the strength of four consecutive victories.

Louisiana is one of two Sun Belt Conference teams currently in the rankings, joined by No. 47 South Alabama. The Cajuns already hold a head-to-head victory over the Jaguars earlier this season.

This will be the Cajuns first trip away from home since a stretch of three matches that saw them drop meetings at No. 1 USC, No. 50 UNC Wilmington and at No. 10 Baylor. Since that tough portion of the schedule UL has reeled off wins on its home court over Sun Belt Conference foe Georgia State, in addition to wins over Xavier (La.), New Orleans and Jackson State.

Edgar Lopez is coming off a good weekend, winning a pair of No. 2 singles matches, while teaming up with senior Damian Farinola for a pair of doubles wins as well against New Orleans and Jackson State. Farinola comes into the weekend having won each of his last three singles matches, while Will Huyton has won each of his last four.

But this week will present a new set of tests for the Cajuns, starting Friday at No. 57 Iowa. The Hawkeyes made a huge jump in the latest ITA polls, going from unranked to the No. 57 spot on Monday.

Iowa enters Friday with a 7-1 mark on the season and has won its last five matches, including wins over Wichita State, No. 54 Utah and BYU. The Hawkeyes are led by Matt Hagan, ranked No. 79 in the latest men's singles national rankings.

Meanwhile, Drake enters the weekend ranked No. 29 in the nation with a 10-3 overall record, and wins in seven of their last nine matches. The Bulldogs have picked up four wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season, most recently with a 4-3 win at then No. 29 North Carolina State.

The Bulldogs also sport a pair of singles players in the national rankings, starting with Ben Lott at No. 34, and Alen Salibasic at No. 55.

First serve for Friday's match at Iowa is set for 2:00 p.m. (CT) from Iowa City, while Saturday's will kick off at 10:00 a.m. (CT) from Des Moines.

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Players Mentioned

Damian Farinola

Will Huyton

Edgar Lopez