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Weekly Men's Tennis Notes.pdf
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Dustin Taylor, a senior from Portland, Ore., won two singles matches and two doubles matches at the No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles position, respectively. He netted one of two singles points won by the Golden Hurricane in a match with No. 12 Texas. Taylor picked up the lone singles point against Michigan. He won one match in doubles competition with partner Ryan Livesay. The pair are currently ranked 19th in the nation.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE Boise State - The Broncos moved to 2-1 on the season picking up a, 7-0, win over instate rival Idaho State. Marcus Berntson earned his first from the No. 1 position in dual play, winning, 6-1, 6-2 over Vandal, Mal Swan.Boise State will head east this weekend for the Harvard Classic, Feb. 1-2.
Fresno State - The Bulldogs faced one of the tougher weekends, heading to Los Angeles and squaring off with No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 USC. Fresno State, fell to the Bruins, 7-0, but fought hard against USC, losing, 4-3. The Bulldogs host their first home matches of the season, with Sacramento State and San Francisco coming to the Wathner Tennis Center. Fresno State is 6-0 against the pair combined.
Hawaii - The Rainbows entered 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 return to action this weekend, taking Texas Tech and Abilene Christian at the JHTS in Houston. The Owls have been fueled by strong play from each level of the ladder. All six player are 2-0 going into this weekend, led by freshman Robert Searle. After this homestand, the Owls head east to face Florida State and Florida.
SMU - The Mustangs suffered a pair of losses this past weekend at the Minnesota Ice Volleys. SMU fell to Tulane, 6-1, in its first match of the weekend. Not fairing any better in the second day, the Mustangs lost, 5-2, to the Golden Gophers. SMU returns to Texas, where they head to Baylor to face the third-ranked Bears, before heading home for a four-match home stand.
Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane (3-2) are six matches through their nine-match season-opening home stand. The Jan. 18 match with Hampton was cancelled. Senior Dustin Taylor has been a bright mark for the Cane, remaining undefeated at 4-0. Tulsa is off this weekend, but will face Vanderbilt and New Mexico Feb. 8-9.
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.