Related Material
|
Weekly Men's Tennis Notes.pdf
2002 Individual and Teams Results.pdf
|
ATHLETE OF THE WEEKAlejandro Tejerina, a senior from Mar Del Plata, Argentina, won two singles matches and three doubles matches at the No. 1 position. He helped the Golden Hurricane to a 3-0 start, earning wins over UMKC, SW Missouri State and Oral Roberts. Tejerina defeated both SMSs Pavel Hanek and Oral Roberts Jared Welch, 6-2, 6-2. Along with teammate Aleksander Charpantidis, he picked up three doubles wins over the weekend.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE Boise State - The Broncos open their spring season this weekend against instate rival Idaho State at the Appleton Tennis Center.
Fresno State - The Bulldogs nothced a season opening win, 4-3, over UC Irvine. Alex Krohn's three-set victory at No. 6 singles clinched Fresno State's win at the Anteater Tennis Stadium. The victory snapped the Bulldogs' 10-match road losing streak. Fresno State had not won on the road since defeating Santa Clara on April 19, 2001, at Santa Clara. This week the Bulldogs face possibly its most challenging week of the season with road matches at top-ranked UCLA and seventh-ranked USC.
Hawaii - The Rainbows were the first to enter compeititon this winter, suffering a 5-2 loss to Virginia. UH is led this season by Reginaldo Moralejo who won his first match of the season from the No. 1 position. Hawaiis next match is the beginning of a two week California road trip that includes seven dates. San Francisco on Feb. 7 begins the tour.
Nevada - The Wolf Pack begin the 2003 campaign Feb. 7 in Colorado Springs with three matches in as many days. Nevada will face Air Force, Montana State and Denver, respectively.
Rice - The Owls dropped only one singles match in two matches as the Owls cruised to dual-match wins over both Nebraska and New Orleans at the Downtown Club in Houston. Richard and William Barker begin the spring season ranked No. 1 in the nation by the ITA. The next test for the twins and the rest of the Owls will be match at home against Texas Tech, Feb. 2.
SMU - The Mustangs picked up their first win of the season, defeating Cal Poly, 5-1. Johan Brunstrom and Gwinyai Chingoka both picked up wins from the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. SMU travels way north for the Ice Volleys hosted by Minnesota, there the Mustangs will face Tulane and Minnesota.
ITA RANKINGS - SMU begins the 2003 season ranked 30th in the nation, earning 1,590 points. Rice is just behind the Mustangs, landing 36th with 1,328 points. Tulsa (45), Fresno State (60) and Boise State (72) round out WAC teams in the top 75.
The Rice twin duo of juniors Richard and William Barker start off the 2003 season ranked number one in the country after capturing the 2002 Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships doubles title in November. It was the first indoor national men's doubles title in Rice history.
Fellow Owl, freshman Robert Searle, is the highest ranked WAC athlete, beginning the season at No. 16 in the nation.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN BOISE This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Boise, Idaho at the Appleton Tennis Courts on the campus of Boise State, April 25-27. The 2002 champion SMU Mustangs will look to defend their title.