DETROIT (1/10/13) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's tennis team will open the dual match season on the road this weekend as the Titans face Western Michigan on Friday and #52 Michigan State on Saturday.

“We have accomplished great things the past few years,” said head coach Grant Asher. “We have a very deep team with seniors that provide leadership for the younger guys and know how to respond to pressure. We also have a couple of new additions that will make our team even deeper.”

2012
UDM finished with nine wins in 2012, the most successful season since the program was reinstituted in 2008 and best season since 1991 (10-6). It also had its best finish in the Horizon League taking the fifth spot with a 3-4 conference record.

Singles
Senior Cesar Escobar Serrano led the team with a 20-11 record in singles victories, including a 16-7 (6-1 HL) mark in dual matches. Serrano is currently second in all-time singles wins (51) behind Titan great and current UDM women's head coach Pjotrs Necajevs (55).

Seniors Mike Basha and Pablo Nunez both return after recording 14 singles in 2012, while Alex Latosinsky comes back after a ten-win junior season.

Doubles
The Titans return three of the top-five doubles winners in school history in senior Chris Cheung (41), Latosinsky (41) and Nunez (35). Nunez had a 17-14 overall record in 2012, including a 12-7 mark in dual matches and five triumphs in Horizon League play. Cheung recorded 12 doubles wins, while Latosinsky earned 11.

Asher also returns sophomore Jay Joshi after one of the most successful doubles seasons in Detroit history. Joshi recorded an 18-14 record in doubles play, tied for the second most wins in a single season and places him 16th all-time in school history after just one year of competition.

Newcomers
Detroit will welcome two newcomers onto the squad for the 2013 season. Freshman Rafael Orantes will join fellow El Salvador native Serrano for the dual match season. Orantes has been ranked as high as 306 by the ITF and currently holds a 588 rank. Freshman Tanguy Crosnier will also join UDM for the spring schedule.

The Broncos
Western Michigan is led by Andrew Cahn, who accumulated a 10-7 record in singles play in the fall, while Stephen Payne posted a 9-9 record.  The doubles team of Nadin Indre and Ross VanderPloeg made a run in the ITA Midwest Regional's making it all the way to the final four. The pair defeated four doubles teams before losing to the eventual champions (8-1) from Illinois.

The Spartans
The 52nd-ranked Michigan State Spartans return nine letterwinners from the 2011-12 season, including Aaron Pfister who recorded 27 wins last year. MSU had a record of 18-11 in dual matches with a 14-4 record on its home court.  Michigan State returns three 20-win performers in Pfister, Drew Lied (24-14) and Gijs Linders (22-12).

On the Back Burner
Detroit will be off the court until January 19 when it hosts TCU at the Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield at 8:00 a.m.