ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Rices Richard Barker has been named the Western Athletic Conference mens tennis Player of the Week. This is Barkers third player of the week honor this spring.
Barker, a senior from Solihull, England, improved to 15-0 in singles and 12-0 in doubles with wins against TCU and Oklahoma State. Against the Horned Frogs, he teamed with William Barker for an 8-5 win against Almada and Tezza, and then clinched the team win with a 7-5, 7-6 victory against Fabrizio Sestini at number three singles. It was the Owls' first win against TCU since 1989. Against the Cowboys, the Barkers helped secure the doubles point with their 8-4 win against Van Elden and Byrnes. Richard then tied the team scoring at 3-3 with his 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory against Tomas Bohunicky.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - In a rain-shortened match, the Broncos captured the Boise State Invitational title with a win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on March 27. In three matches, Boise State lost only one game. The Broncos swept New Mexico State on March 25, 7-0. Boise State also defeated UNLV, 6-1. This season, the Broncos are led by Mahmoud Rezk who is 16-3 in singles action this season. He is 10-1 in the No. 5 spot this season. Thomas Schoek is 22-0 overall this season, including a 11-5 record in dual matches in the No. 2 position.
Fresno State - The 35th-ranked Fresno State team will host the British University National Team on April 2 at 6 p.m. at Sierra Sport and Racquet Club in a fundraiser event. The Bulldogs, who have not played since March 16, dropped from 31st to 35th. The Bulldogs break their 18-day rest period on April 4 with a doubleheader at the Wathen Tennis Center. Fresno State hosts UC San Diego at 9:30 a.m. and then UC Davis at 2 p.m. Fresno State last defeated Minnesota, 4-3, on March 16. The Bulldogs have won two-straight matches, also defeating Colorado 4-0 at the Blue-Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Hawaii - Hawai'i lost to Southwest Missouri State, 5-2, on March 26, at the Central Oahu Tennis Complex. With the loss, the Rainbow Warriors fell to 6-12 on the year. Hawai'i took the tightly-contested doubles point after winning the Nos. 1 and 3 positions. It marked just the third time all season that SMS lost the doubles point. At the No. 1 court, the team of Dalibor Ptak and Ryan Sceats held on for a 9-7 victory over Pavel Hanek and Jiri Spousta. UH took the point when Jarrod Diepraam and Burke Marold out-lasted Rishi Garbharran and Predrag Pavlicic, 8-6, at No. 3. The Bears turned things around by sweeping the Nos. 3-6 positions. Hawaii's Sceats was the only player to win his match.This week, the Rainbow Warriors, who have won three of their last six matches, will play two home matches. Hawaii will face Sonoma State on April 3 and take on Cal Lutheran on April 5.
Nevada - The University of Nevada gave St. Mary's its sixth consecutive win when it fell 5-2 at its oppnent's home courts Sunday. The match was Nevada's third straight, the fourth for St. Mary's who was coming off an exhibition match Saturday, having not lost a regulation match since March 7. Nevada was on a roll itself, having claimed more wins so far this season than any full year since 1997-98.
The Wolf Pack took the early advantage winning the team doubles point with two sets. Sophomore Adam Jooste and senior Daniel Ericsson downed the Gaels No. 1 team of Martin Marechal and Andre Sion 8-5. Junior Rudolf Leuschner and junior Brandon Sieh also teamed up for a win at the No. 2 spot against Vincent LeBorgne and J.J. Whitlinger 8-6.
Rice - The seventh-ranked Rice men's tennis team was handed its second loss of the year when Alabama scored a 4-3 win against the Owls in dual-match action on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. After Alabama, ranked 58th, knotted up the score, Haerle returned the lead to Rice with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win against Molnar at number four singles. The Tide then won two in a row to take a 3-2 advantage with two matches still playing. Rajevac tied the score back up for the Owls, dropping Murray 7-5, 6-1 at number five. Alabama secured the upset with a win at number six singles. The Owls move to 16-2 on the year with their second loss in a row. Next up for Rice is a trek to College Station to take on 25th-ranked Texas A&M on April 6
SMU - SMU dropped a closely contested 4-3 match to Oklahoma State at the Cowboys' home DuBois Tennis Center. Oklahoma State was coming off a huge win at No. 6 Rice over the weekend. The Mustangs opened up play in fine fashion, taking the doubles point behind strong play at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Oklahoma State would storm back quickly in singles play, winning the first four singles matches to finish. The Cowboys won at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles to clinch the win. With the loss, SMU falls to 12-8 on the year. The Mustangs return to action Friday Apr. 9 when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. to take on WAC foe Tulsa.
Tulsa - Tulsa owns a team No. 36 ranking, Dustin Taylor earned a No. 86 ITA singles ranking, while Alejandro Tejerina recorded the No. 89 slot. TU posts a 9-8 mark on the season (falling to eight top-30 teams). Tulsa fell 7-0 to third-ranked Southern Cal last week. The Golden Hurricane's Dustin Taylor and Alejandro Tejerina dropped an 8-2 decision to the Trojans' ninth-ranked doubles tandem of Drew Hoskins and Daniel Langre in the No. 1 position. USC's Johan Berg and Parker Collins posted an 8-5 upset over TU's 45th-ranked duo, Aleksander Charpantidis and Tom Murray. In singles action, the Golden Hurricane dropped all six matches.
ITA RANKINGS - Rice is the highest ranked WAC team in the most recent ITA rankings. The Owls are ranked No. 7. This week, Fresno State fall to No. 35, while Boise State is No. 38. Rounding out the top 50 is SMU at No. 41 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.