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Weekly Tennis Notes.pdf
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PLAYER OF THE WEEKTulsa's
Dustin Taylor, a senior from Portland, Ore., won his only singles match of the week, upsetting WAC foe, Rices William Barker, 6-3, 6-2 from the No. 2 singles position. Taylor now owns an 8-4 record against ranked opponents.
OTHERS NOMINATED -
Greg Shearer of Fresno State won both of his singles matches at No. 3 and notched a victory in doubles at No. 2 as Fresno State defeated both Santa Clara and
UC Santa Barbara last weekend. Shearer has helped lead the Bulldogs to a six-match winning streak, their longest since the 2000-01 season.
AROUND THE WACBoise State - The Broncos are off until April 19, 20 and 22 when they will host Idaho, Montana and Hawaii in the teams final home regular season matches before hosting the WAC Tennis Tournament April 25-27.
Fresno State - The Bulldogs are in the midst of their longest winning streak since the 2000-01 season. Fresno State continues a six-match homestand against South Alabama Apr. 12. Bulldogs have won 10 in a row at home. The Bulldogs have now won their last six matches, including their last 10 of 12.
Hawaii - The Rainbows are off until Apr. 18, when they return to the states for matches with Air Force, Denver and Boise State. Hawaii will then compete in the WAC Championship in Boise, Apr. 25-27.
Nevada - The Wolf Packs only match of the weekend with Idaho State was cancelled due to weather. Nevada concludes its regular season with a match at Fresno State Apr. 19, before the WAC Championship.
Rice - The 26th ranked Owls suffered a 4-1 loss to Texas and a 4-3 loss to Oklahoma State, but bounced back to pick up a 4-3 win over conference foe Tulsa. The Owls fell to 15-5 on the season, but finish the regular season with five home matches, beginning Apr. 13.
SMU - The Mustangs only match of the weekend was with Notre Dame, defeating the Irish, 4-3. SMU takes on Baylor, Lamar in Dallas and TCU in Fort Worth in this weeks matches.
Tulsa - The Hurricane lost their second-straight conference match, falling to Rice, 4-3. Tulsa has lost three in a row, but look to get back on track with home matches against Auburn and San Diego State.
PATTON NAMED HEAD COACH AT BOISE STATE - Former Bronco head coach Greg Patton, who led the Bronco mens tennis team from 1992 through 1998, has been rehired to again serve as the mens tennis head coach. From 1992 through 1998, Patton led the Broncos to five conference championships, with his teams making four NCAA Regional Tournament appearances and the 1997 team finishing fifth nationally. Patton was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1997 after the Broncos top five national finish. In addition to his national coach of the year honor while at Boise State, Patton was also named conference coach of the year five times. His Bronco coaching record is 135-48 for a 73.8 winning percentage.
ITA RANKINGS - Rice fell out of the top 25, coming in 26th. Fresno State moved all the way to 38th, with SMU behind them at 49. Boise State is 54th, while Tulsa (56) rounds out WAC teams in the top 75. The Rice twin duo of juniors Richard and William Barker fell to No.2 in the nation, after starting off the 2003 season at the top spot. The two won 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 currently ranked at No. 27. Richard Barker is WACs highest ranked player, coming in this week, 22nd.
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.