ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - SMUs Johan Brunstrom has been named the Western Athletic Conference mens tennis Player of the Week. This is the second-straight week that Brunstrom has earned the player of the week honor.
Brunstrom, a senior from Uddevalla, Sweden, Brunstrom went 3-0 on the week leading SMU to wins over Texas A&M-CC, Columbia and No. 23 Cal. Against TAMU-CC, Brunstrom came back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to win the three-set thriller at No. 1 singles, clinching the win for the Ponies. Brunstrom went on to have back-to-back dominating performances, winning in straight sets at No. 1 singles against both Columbia and No. 23 Cal. With his three wins, Brunstrom ran his record to 8-4 in singles play.
OTHERS NOMINATED Andy Sinn, Fresno State and Robert Searle, Rice.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - Day One of the Boise State Holiday Inn Tennis Invitational is complete with Cornell defeating Sacramento State 6-1 and New Mexico State defeating St. John's 5-2. In a non-tournament match Texas A&M Corpus Christi defeated Cal Poly 7-0. Boise State begins tournament action Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. versus New Mexico State, the match will be played at the Appleton Tennis Center.
Fresno State - The Fresno State men's moved up in the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings. The men's team (9-6) jumped seven spots to No. 31 after knocking off then-No. 39 Minnesota 4-3 on March 16 in a five-hour marathon match. The highest the Bulldogs have been this year, and in the past three years, is 30th, which the team achieved in the March 2 rankings. Individual rankings were also released, and Greg Shearer remained in the poll at No. 91. He had been 51st and snapped out of a brief slump with wins in his last two matches. But prior to the short winning streak, which began March 13, Shearer had won just once since Feb. 14. Fresno State (9-6) takes this week off after winning its second in a row last week. In fact, the Bulldogs are in the midst of a 18-day rest period before they next take the court for a doubleheader against UC San Diego and UC Davis on April 4. The action that morning begins at 9 a.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center.
Hawaii - Hawai'i concluded its four-match road swing through California with a 5-2 victory over Westmont, Tuesday afternoon, on the campus of Westmont College. The Rainbow Warriors conclude its four-match road trip with a 3-1 record and improved to 6-11 overall. UH returns to Honolulu, where they host Southwest Missouri State, Friday, March 26, at the Central Oahu Tennis Complex. Hawaii has now won five of its last seven matches.
Nevada - The University of Nevada men's tennis team defeated Gonzaga Sunday 6-1 in Missoula, Montana. Nevada improves to 7-8 on the season, after overcoming a loss ealier in the weekend to host Montana 4-3 and Gonzaga drops to 4-14. Nevada again sits on the cusp of bringing its season record to .500 for the first time under current head coach Ryan Johnston's tenure. Its the second time this season Nevada has beaten Gonzaga, having taken them down 7-0 back on March 12. Montana broke a three-match win streak for the Wolf Pack on Saturday, its longest of the season.
Rice - The fifth-ranked Rice Owls defeated Western Athletic Conference foe Tulsa 6-1, then swept Lamar 6-0 on Sunday at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium to stay undefeated this season, improving to 16-0. In singles, Richard Barker made quick work of Shunsuke Shimizu at number three, winning 6-1, 6-1 to put the team scoring at 2-0. After Tulsa notched a win at number five singles, William Barker and Robert Searle posted straight-set victories to clinch the team win. Barker downed Tejerina 6-1, 6-4 at the two position, then Searle held on for a 6-2, 7-5 decision against Taylor at the top spot. Vuk Rajevac and Tony Haerle were also winners for the Owls. In the late match, Rice swept through Lamar in singles, winning all six matches in straight sets. Doubles was not played.
SMU - The SMU men's tennis team won four of six singles matches to down No. 23 Cal, 4-3, in Indian Wells, Calif. The Mustangs came back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat on the nation's top 25 teams thanks to the play of freshman Federico Murgier, who won in three sets at No. 6 singles to win the three hour, 10 minute match played in 100 degree heat in California. The Mustangs win came over a preseason top 10 team. With the win, SMU improves to 11-7 on the year and return to action Mar. 25 when they host Wichita State at Haggar Tennis Stadium.
Tulsa - Tulsa owns a team No. 49 ranking, Dustin Taylor earned a No. 76 ITA singles ranking, while Alejandro Tejerina recorded the No. 82 slot. Tulsa posts a 9-7 mark on the season (falling to seven top-30 teams)
Tulsa dropped a 6-1 decision to conference foe, fifth-ranked Rice on on March 21 at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston, Texas. In singles action, Murray chalked up a quick 6-0, 6-2 victory over Rice's Ben Harknett in the No. 5 position. TU's 76th-ranked Taylor fell, 6-2, 7-5, to 33rd-ranked Robert Searle, while 82nd-ranked Tejerina dropped a 6-1, 6-4 mark to 65th-ranked William Barker, in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots, respectively.
ITA RANKINGS - Rice is the highest ranked WAC team in the most recent ITA rankings. The Owls are ranked sixth. Fresno State moved up to No. 32, while SMU is No. 39. Rounding out the top 50 is Boise at No. 40 and Tulsa and No. 49. The Rice twin duo of juniors Richard and William Barker are currently ranked No. 4 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.