ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - SMUs Johan Brunstrom has been named the Western Athletic Conference mens tennis Player of the Week.
Brunstrom, a senior from Uddevalla, Sweden, Brunstrom defeated the nation's No. 1 ranked player on Mar. 10 when he defeated Baylor's Benedikt Dorsch, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (8), at Haggar Tennis Stadium in Dallas. Brunstrom's win was one of two points the No. 49 SMU men's team posted against the Baylor, who entered the match ranked No. 3 in the nation. Brunstrom's win was his eighth singles win of the year and his 51st career singles win at SMU. Brunstrom also teamed with Mustang doubles partner Henrik Soderberg as the pair defeated Baylor's No. 1 doubles team, 8-5. The win was the duo's eighth victory together in 2003-04 and improved their dual record to a perfect 7-0 on the year. Brunstrom and Soderberg entered the match ranked No. 27 in the nation in doubles play.
OTHERS NOMINATED Tony Haerle, Rice and Tom Murray, Tulsa.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - The Boise State Broncos take their 12-5 overall record and their 35th national ranking on the road for the fifth week in a row to play in Texas. The Broncos will play
Baylor in Waco on March 19th, followed by TCU in Fort Worth on March 20. The Broncos will be home March 23-27 to host a nine team tournament with the Broncos, Cal Poly SLO, Cornell, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico State, UNLV, Sac State and St. Johns. The Broncos will play at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24 against the winner of the mornings St. Johns vs. New Mexico State match.
Fresno State - The emergence of Greg Shearer this season as a legitimate No. 1 singles player has been a nice addition to the Fresno State lineup. He has gone 12-10 overall and 6-6 in dual matches, with most of his opponents being nationally ranked. A junior, Shearers
success is reflected in the latest national rankings, which have him No. 51. Shearer
snapped out of brief slump with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Colorados Marcos Digliodo. The
New Zealander had only won once since Feb. 14. Fresno State has seven matches remaining on the schedule, and five of those come at home. The stretch gets underway Tuesday when the team hosts 33rd-ranked Minnesota at 2 p.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center. Other home matches the rest of the way include UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Pacific. The Bulldogs only road contests are against UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine.
Hawaii - The Hawai'i men's tennis team fought hard but fell to nationally ranked Arkansas, 6-1, at the Central Oahu Tennis Complex. The Rainbow Warriors had its modest two-match win streak snapped in dropping to 3-10 on the year. The only Rainbow Warrior to win his match was freshman Jamie Migia, who pulled out a 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory over Talley Parker at No. 6 singles. UH next travels to the mainland for four consecutive matches beginning with Claremont-McKenna, Saturday, March 20.
Nevada - Nevada increased its win streak to three in its first home match of the season when it defeated Weber State 7-0 at Caughlin Ranch Tennis Club. Nevada has used the streak to bump up its record to 6-7 on the year, holding just outside a .500 percentage for the first time under current head coach Ryan Johnston. The Pack will return to the road when it travels to Missoula, Mont. to play Montana on March 19 at 2 p.m. Nevada will also play Montana State-Billings on March 20 at 10 a.m. and Idaho on the same day at 2 p.m. The Silver and Blue will re-match against Gonzaga on March 21 at 10 a.m. All four matches will be held in Missoula.
Rice - The Owls continued their climb towards the top of the rankings, moving up to fifth in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association's poll. The number-five team ranking is the Owls highest in the 26-year history of the ITA poll, which started in 1978. Rice finished second at the NCAA tournament in both 1968 and 1970. The Owls began the year ranked 24th in the preseason poll, then cracked the top 10 for the first time on Feb. 24. Rice is a home doubleheader on Mar. 21 with 32nd-ranked Tulsa at followed by Lamar.
SMU - Down 5-2 and facing match point, SMU senior Johan Brunstrom rallied back to win the third and deciding set 7-6 as the No. 49 SMU men's tennis team defeated No. 60 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-3, at Haggar Tennis Stadium in Dallas. With the win, SMU improves to 9-7 on the year.
Tulsa - Tulsa defeated seventh-ranked TCU 4-3 last week. In a dual filled with upsets, the Golden Hurricane (9-6) netted its first victory over a top-30 team this season, while the Horned Frogs (11-1) were handed their first loss this year. In doubles action, TU's Dustin Taylor and Alejandro Tejerina chalked up an 8-5 decision over TCU's 36th-ranked doubles tandem of Rafael Abreu and Fabrizio Sestini in the No. 1 position. This was the Tulsa tandem's third victory over a ranked opponent this season. Aleksander Charpantidis and Tom Murray also earned an upset victory in the No. 2 slot, sliding past TCU's 21st-ranked Hector Almada and Jacopo Tezza, 9-7. In the deciding match, Tulsa's Murray tallied a 6-3 win in the first set, but fell 3-6 in the second set. Murray was down 2-4 in the final set, but fought back to tie the match at five all, and eventually notching a 7-6 third.
ITA RANKINGS - Rice is the highest ranked WAC team in the most recent ITA rankings. The Owls are ranked a season-high fifth. Tulsa is ranked No. 32, while Boise State is No. 33. Rounding out the top 50 is Fresno State at No. 38. The Rice twin duo of juniors Richard and William Barker are currently ranked No. 2 after starting the season ranked No. 1.
NATIONAL TEAM INDOORS - Tulsa and Boise State played at the ITA/USTA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle, Wash. This was Tulsas first trip to the national indoor tournament. Both schools went 0-3 at the prestigious tournament. Defending NCAA Champion, Illinois, repeated as ITA/USTA National Team Indoor Champions. Tulsa lost to Illinois in the first round, 4-0.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN HOUSTON - This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Houston, Texas at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the campus of Rice University, April 30-May 2. The 2003 champion, Boise State, will look to defend its title.