The Presbyterian Blue Hose men’s tennis team will open its dual match season against the Emmanuel Lions, who currently hold a 3-0 record. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, January 20, at 2 p.m. at the Templeton Tennis Courts.
Juan Pablo Boada, now in his second year as head coach, leads a roster that includes three returning letterwinners: senior David Mamalat and sophomores Daksh Prasad and Eduardo Valentin. New additions to the team are junior Matija Samardzic, sophomore Gabriel Godoy, and freshmen Thomas Anderson, Victor Mayer, and Dario Navarro.
This past fall season saw Mamalat and Samardzic win the doubles title at the Big South Individual Championship and reach the quarterfinals of the ITA Conference Masters Championship. All members of the Blue Hose recorded singles and doubles victories during tournament play in the fall.
Tuesday’s contest marks Presbyterian’s first home match of the season. The team has won its home opener in eight of the last nine years.
In preseason polling by Big South coaches, Presbyterian was projected to finish third in the conference standings. Longwood was selected as the favorite to win the Big South title this year.
Historically, Presbyterian’s men’s tennis program has secured three Big South regular-season championships (2014, 2017, 2023) and three Big South Tournament titles (2017, 2021, 2023).
Presbyterian holds a 4-0 lead in its series with Emmanuel. Their most recent meeting took place on February 22, 2025, when Presbyterian won 7-0 at home. In that match, they secured the doubles point with victories at number two and three doubles positions and swept all singles matches; both Mamalat and Prasad earned singles wins.
Emmanuel enters this matchup with wins over North Greenville, Anderson, and Truett McConnell this season. Senior James Girdler and freshman Shumpei Kamiyama each have undefeated singles records at 3-0. In doubles play for Emmanuel, Girdler/Kamiyama and seniors Marcos Llorens/junior Murilo Martins have both posted two wins so far this season.
“Presbyterian coach Juan Pablo Boada is in his second season at the helm of the program.”
