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Tournament Bracket.PDF
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WHAT: Men's Tennis Championship
WHERE: Tournament Information Jake Hess Stadium - Houston, Texas
Located on the campus of Rice University.
DATE: Friday-Sunday, April 30-May 2, 2004
RESULTS: 2004 Championship ResultsSCHEDULE OF EVENTS: 2004 Schedule of Events
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK - This week, 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. While it was Boise State's first WAC Championship in a sport other than football, it was also coach Greg Patton's first WAC Championship in his first year back at Boise State after leaving to coach for the US National Team in 1998.
Boise State - Last season, Boise State defeated the SMU Mustangs, 4-2, in a wild match at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, Idaho for the program's first WAC title in its second year in the conference. The Broncos are the No. 3 seed this year and will face No. 6 Hawaii in the quarterfinals. Boise State is led by 2003 all-WAC second-team selection, Guillaume Bouvier, who is 16-14 this season. Thomas Schoeck is 27-14 this year with a 18-10 dual match record. In doubles, team of Matias Silva and Mahmoud Rezk led the Broncos with an overall record of 18-11. The pair is undefeated at the No. 1 position with a 3-0 record.
Fresno State - Fresno State is 13-8 entering the WAC Championsip. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will take on No. 5-seed Tulsa in the first round of the WAC Tournament. Fresno State, which is 9-1 all-time in WAC Tournament first round matches, has won the league title twice, the last coming in 1999 in San Diego. Fresno State has claimed two WAC titles in its history, one in 1996 and another in 1999. The Bulldogs have been the runner-up on three other occasions 1993, 95 and 01. Under current head coach Brad Dancer, Fresno State has played in two conference tournaments. In 2001, the team lost in the first round and last year lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals to SMU. The Bulldogs are led by No. 87 Greg Shearer who is 15-12 this season. The Bulldogs have six players with at least 10 wins this season.
Hawaii - Hawaii enters the WAC Championship with an overall record of 8-14. The Warriors are 1-1 against WAC schools with a loss to Rice and a win over Nevada. Hawaii is the tournaments No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 Boise State in the quarterfinals. Last season, the Warriors were the also the No. 6 seed, falling to No. 3 Fresno State, 4-0. Sophomore Ryan Sceats has a 14-11 record for the Warriors this season, 13-8 in dual match play. Hawaii has two players in double digits in wins this season with Dalibor Ptak recording 10 wins. Ptak and Sceats combine for the Warriors best doubles team. The duo are 12-7 in dual match play this sesaon at the No. 1 position.
Nevada - Nevada fell just short of acheiving a 10-win season, finishing 9-12, the most wins since the 1996-97 team finished 11-9. The Wolf Pack are the No. 7 seed and will take on second-seeded SMU in the quarterfinals. Nevada will experience a little deja vu, as they are once again the No. 7 seed facing No. 2 SMU. Last season, No. 2 SMU defeated No. 7 Nevada, 4-0. Sophomore Adam Jooste leads the Wolf Pack this season. Jooste is 18-10 with a 14-7 dual match record. Jooste and doubles partner Daniel Ericsson are 11-9 in dual match play this spring.
Rice - Rice ended the regular season ranked No. 13 in the nation, the highest ranked WAC team. Behind the play of the nations top doubles team Richard and William Barker, Rice earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Owls have a bye and will face either Fresno State or Tulsa in the semifinals. Richard Barker is the returning WAC Player of the Year. Last season, the Owls had the sweep with Barker, Robert Searle taking WAC Freshman of the Year, and Ron Smarr was WAC Coach of the Year. Searle is 23-13 this season and is currently ranked No. 33. William Barker is 24-10 this season, earning a No. 46 ranking. Last season, the Owls were the No. 1 seed and were upset in the semifinals, 4-1, to eventual champion, Boise State.
SMU - SMU returns two all-WAC honorees from last season, Gwinyai Chingoka and Johan Brunstrom. This season, Brunstrom is ranked No. 29 in the nation and sports a 13-6 record at the No. 1 position. Brunstrom and doubles partner Henrik Soderberg, first-team all-WAC selections from last season, are 12-6 overall this season with an 11-4 dual match record. SMU is 15-10 with a 1-1 mark against WAC schools. Nationally, the Mustangs are ranked No. 38, the second-highest team in the WAC.The Mustangs are seeded No. 2 in this years tournament and will take on No. 7 Nevada. In the 2003 championship, SMU defeated Nevada, 4-0. The Mustangs then defeated Fresno State, 4-0, in the semifinals before losing to Boise State in the championship, 4-2.
Tulsa - Tulsa returns two all-WAC honorees in Dustin Taylor and Alejandro Tejerina. Taylor also earned second-team all-WAC doubles honors with partner Ryan Livesay. Taylor is currently ranked No. 85, while Tejerina is No. 118. Tulsas leader in wins this season is senior Tom Murray who holds a 20-10 record overall and a 14-5 dual match record. The Golden Hurricane enter the WAC Championship with an 11-13 record. Tulsa is 0-2 against WAC schools this season with losses to Rice and SMU. Last season, No. 4 Tulsa was upset in the tournament by No. 5 seed and eventual champion Boise State, 4-3 in the quarterfinals.