GCU opens conference play in Texas


Grand Canyon Lopes (5-11, 0-0 WAC)	at	UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (8-12, 0-0 WAC)	UT Arlington Mavericks (6-6, 0-0 WAC)
		Thursday, March 28 9 a.m. No live coverage	Sunday, March 30 9 a.m. Live Stats

Entering conference play with back-to-back wins against UNLV and Dayton, Grand Canyon is Texas bound for a two-match week at UT Rio Grande Valley and UT Arlington.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

STARTING A STREAK: The Lopes enter conference play on their first winning streak of the season. GCU defeated UNLV in Las Vegas on March 17 and returned home for the first time in a month to snap a seven-match win streak of a Dayton club that entered the match 14-6.
SUCCESS ON THREE: Sophomore David Wekesa ran his win streak to four matches on Court 3 for the Lopes. Outside of a tightly contested match at UNLV that went to three sets, Wekesa has been dominant in not allowing his other three opponents to tally more than three game wins in a set.
CONFERENCE TIME: Conference action gets underway in the WAC, where only five teams are competing this season after the departure of New Mexico State. The Lopes play four conference matches over the next three weeks, vying for positioning for the April 18-20 WAC Championships in Harlingen, Texas. GCU has three regular-season WAC championships and two tournament titles in its program history. The Lopes will be looking to unseat reigning regular-season and tournament champion UT Arlington.

SCOUTING

UT Rio Grande Valley opened the season with a 3-10 mark but has won five of its last seven matches as it enters WAC play. The Vaqueros have had nearly two weeks off from competition, most recently defeating North Dakota State 4-3 on March 15. UTRGV is looking to improve on a 1-4 showing in conference play last year, especially with the approaching WAC Championships being held in nearby Harlingen, Texas.

UT Arlington has played the fewest matches of any WAC team, sitting at just 6-6 on the season. The Mavericks last played on March 13, when they defeated No. 57 New Jersey Institute of Technology 4-3 on the home courts. Prior to playing the Lopes, UTA hosts Wichita State for a home match on Thursday. The Mavericks went 5-0 in their first season in the WAC last year and advanced to the NCAA tournament, where they fell to TCU.

WHAT'S NEXT?

WAC play comes to Phoenix when the Lopes host Abilene Christian on Sunday, April 7, at 11 a.m.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

David Wekesa

Grand Canyon University Athletics