TYLER, Texas (February 20, 2026) – The UT Permian Basin men's tennis team started its trip to Tyler, Texas, with a 6-1 defeat to No. 22 Mississippi College on Friday at Tyler Junior College.

Lucas Nakasato and Andrew Hunsley pulled out a 7-3 win over Mikayel Avanesyan and Charles Lefort at No. 2 doubles, but Joao D'Amorim and Nehal Naidoo fell 6-2 to Matias Ruiz and Mattia Ricci in the decider for the doubles point at No. 1 doubles.

All six singles matches lasted just two sets. Naidoo won 6-2, 6-0 over Ruiz at No. 2 singles. D'Amorim fell 6-4, 6-2 to Ricci at No. 1 singles, Nakasato fell 6-2, 6-2 to Avanesyan at No. 3 singles, and Hunsley lost 7-5, 6-3 to Sergio Ramirez Ocana at No. 5 singles.

In their matchup last year, it was Ramirez Ocana winning the final singles match at No. 6 singles to clinch a narrow 4-3 victory for MC over UTPB.
 
Results:
Doubles

• #1 – Matias Ruiz/Mattia Ricci (MC) def. Joao D'Amorim/Nehal Naidoo (UTPB) 6-2
• #2 – Lucas Nakasato/Andrew Hunsley (UTPB) def. Mikayel Avanesyan/Charles Lefort (MC) 7-5
• #3 – Joshua Hinton/Sergio Ramirez Ocana (MC) def. Philipp Gaurieder/Kabir Chothani (UTPB) 6-1
• Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles

• #1 – Mattia Ricci (MC) def. Joao D'Amorim (UTPB) 6-4, 6-2
• #2 – Nehal Naidoo (UTPB) def. Matias Ruiz (MC) 6-2, 6-0
• #3 – Mikayel Avanesyan (MC) def. Lucas Nakasato (UTPB) 6-2, 6-2
• #4 – Florian Walcher (MC) def. Kabir Chothani (UTPB) 6-1, 6-2
• #5 – Sergio Ramirez Ocana (MC) def. Andrew Hunsley (UTPB) 7-5, 6-3
• #6 – Lucas Cavalvanti de Carvalho (MC) def. Enrique Silveira (UTPB) 6-0, 6-2
• Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Team Records:

• UTPB falls to 1-3 while No. 22 Mississippi College improves to a perfect 3-0.
• Last season, the Choctaws men's tennis team reached the NCAA South Region Tournament. MC posted a 16-11 record (5-3 GSC).

 
Next Up: On day two of its trip to Tyler, Texas, on Saturday, February 21, UPTB will face No. 24 Harding University.