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Weekly Tennis Notes.pdf
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEKStefan Suta, a junior from Schwaebisch-gmue, Germany, won all three matches this weekend leading the Bulldogs to wins over Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis. He improved his overall record to 19-5, which leads the team. He also picked up three doubles wins with two different partners.
OTHERS NOMINATED - Guillaume Bouvier of Boise State went 2-0, helping the Broncos to a pair of 6-1 wins against New Mexico and Santa Clara ... Richard Barker of Rice improved to 6-0 in dual matches this spring, winning both his matches from the No.1 singles position ... Alejandro Tejerina of Tulsa posted the Golden Hurricanes only point against 24th-ranked LSU, winning from the No. 1 singles. He, along with partner Aleksander Charpantidis, defeated the Tigers No.3 doubles team.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE Boise State - The Broncos earned a pair of 6-1 wins, over Santa Clara and New Mexico, evening their record at 5-5. This week, Boise State travels south to sunny San Diego for the La Jolla Beach Doubles and a match with San Diego.
Fresno State - The 61st-ranked Bulldogs got back on the winning track, picking up three wins this weekend, defeating Loyola Marymount, 5-2, and shuting out UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, 7-0. Fresno State is off this week before heading to Seattle for matches with Washington and San Diego.
Hawaii - The Rainbows are back home for two matches, falling in their first to Hawaii Pacific, 6-1. Hawaii hosts Marquette, Mar. 9, before heading to the road for eight matches.
Nevada - The Wolf Pack suffered a loss in their only outing of the week, falling to UC Davis, 4-3. The Pack split the singles draw, but lost the doubles point, 3-0. Nevada continues its California swing, as they head to Sac. State, Sonoma State and Delta College.
Rice - The 36th-ranked Owls remain undefeated at 7-0, picking up home wins over Texas-Arlington, 6-1, and North Carolina State, 7-0. The point allowed against UTA is just the fifth the Owls have surrendered this season. Rice hosts Minnesota Feb. 27 before traveling to No. 9 Texas, where the 28th-ranked Richard Barker will face 19th-ranked Jean Simon of Texas at the No. 1 singles spot.
SMU - The 38th-ranked Mustangs notched their fifth win of the season, edging Florida State, 4-3, in Tallahassee. SMU gets set to host a pair of home matches when cross-town rival TCU comes to the Haggar Tennis Stadium. The Mustangs will host VCU, Mar. 1.
Tulsa - The 54th-ranked Golden Hurricane look to get back on the winning track with their next four matches at home. Tulsas only match this week is against Virginia Commonwealth, March. 1.
ITA RANKINGS - SMU is currently ranked 38th in the nation, while Rice moves up to 36th. Tulsa (54) and Fresno State (61) round out WAC teams in the top 75.
The Rice twin duo of juniors Richard and William Barker started 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.