Texas A&M men’s tennis will be at home for the second consecutive weekend as they host the Conference Challenge Event beginning Thursday. Louisiana State University from the Southeastern Conference, Illinois from the Big Ten Conference, and Texas Tech from the Big Twelve Conference are all making the trip to College Station to compete.
The Conference Challenge marks the sixth and final organized team event of the fall for the Aggies. Head coach Steve Denton views it as another vital opportunity for the team to gain experience prior to the spring season.
“We’ve got some really good teams coming,” Denton said, “[It’s a] great opportunity, one, for our guys to compete one more time before we kind of shut down for fall. This weekend gives our guys another real opportunity, and us, to really see where they are and what we continue to need to be able to work on here as we get closer to the spring season.”
Texas A&M heads into the Challenge with a combined record of 21-19 in Main Draw singles matches and 15-11 in Main Draw doubles matches in the fall. Denton believes his team has progressed since early September, but he still eyes further improvement as they prepare for spring competition.
“The encouraging thing is I saw a lot of improvement from the last couple of tournaments to this last weekend in our tournament,” Denton said. “Are we exactly where we want to be? No, but I saw a lot of improvement and that’s what we’ve got to continue to focus on and try to get better because that’s what this fall is about.”
Conference Challenge play runs through Sunday.