CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Hoping to make another strong push in the Southland Conference this spring, the University of the Incarnate Word tennis programs will begin their tune-up season when fall competition begins this weekend.

The Cardinal men and women will begin 2026-27 at the Jake Frederick Memorial Islander Open, an invitational hosted by Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Play will begin Friday morning before concluding on Sunday.

Men's preview

2026 RECORD (SOUTHLAND RECORD): 13-4 (5-0). Won SLC regular season championship

OUTLOOK: After running the table in conference play during the regular season, the Cardinals figure to be a major contender again with the return of multiple all-conference players, a group headlined by Alejandro Hernandez, the reigning Southland Player of the Year.

Hernandez, a junior from Monterrey, Mexico, had a combined record of 20-6 across singles and doubles a year ago, playing exclusively at the No. 1 singles spot.

All four UIW players to earn All-Southland honors in 2026 are back in some capacity this season. First-team selection Santiago Flyckt (No. 5 singles) and second-team honoree Alexandre Chauvel (No. 2 doubles with Hernandez) return to the court, while first-team, No. 2-singles player Emilio Vila joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant.

That's not the only experience UIW returns, as sophomore Agustin Salazar (9-4 in singles and doubles) and junior Marcel Miralles (6-4 in singles) are back as well.

The veteran group will be led by Jonas Andersson, who in 2026 was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year for the third time.

Women's preview

2026 RECORD (SOUTHLAND RECORD): 6-11 (5-4). 

OUTLOOK: The Cardinal women, who set a school record for most conference wins in a season since joining the Division-I ranks in 2013, unfortunately could not retain the services of their own SLC Player of the Year.

Top Southland player Estefania Gonzalez, who had 18 combined wins at singles in doubles last season, graduated, as did First-Team No. 6 singles player Alexandra Paule Jacqueline Mille. UIW did, however, bring back Ine Lamprecht, who made First-Team All-Southland at No. 1 doubles with Gonzalez.

Other returners for coach Courtney Steinbock include Victoria Jordan Salcedo Franklin (five singles wins in 2026), Amelia Alejandra Perez Corona (10 wins across singles and doubles) and Luciana Paez Hernandez (4-3 doubles record).

Steinbock also brought in a pair of high-impact transfers in Chantajah Marie Mills, a former four-star recruit from Texas State, and Jana Ruzic, who won 10 singles matches as a freshman at Drake (Iowa) during the 2024-25 season.

The Islander Open will be played at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center in Corpus Christi.

To view a full men's fall schedule, click here. To see the women's fall slate, click here.