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HOUSTON - The host Rice men won their first Western Athletic Conference tennis championship on Sunday with a 4-1 victory over SMU at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the university campus in Houston.

The top-seeded and 13th-ranked Owls were led by the strength of Richard and William Barker. The pair form the No. 1 doubles team in the country, with William also ranked 46th in singles.

The Barkers began the day with a tough 8-5 victory over the Mustangs' 29th-ranked tandem of Johan Brunstrom and Henrik Soderberg. The Owls then clinch the doubles point as Tony Haerle and Vuk Rajevac held off Gwinyai Chingoka and Paul McNaughton for an 8-5 win at No. 2.

The Mustangs quickly struck back in singles when Alex Skrypko scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Rajevac at No. 5, knotting the team score at 1-1. Haerle answered for the Owls at No. 4 singles with his 6-3, 6-1 decision against the Mustangs' Federico Murgier. Then the Barkers made their presence felt again.

Richard Barker put Rice within a single point of the title, with a strong 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 3. At stadium court, SMU's Brunstrom was leading against Robert Searle, but all eyes bounced back-and-forth between courts two and six. Ben Harknett was leading Peter Oredsson 6-2, 5-4 at No. 6 singles, while William Barker was up 6-4, 5-2 at No. 2. The senior Barker proved to be quicker than his freshman teammate and clinch the team title with his win against Chingoka.

The victory was Rice's first league title since 1972 when they played in the Southwest Conference.

With the Owls' 22-3 record, Rice head coach Ron Smarr was named the WAC coach of the year by his peers for the second consecutive year. The Mustangs' Skrypko took freshman of the year kudos, while Brunstrom was honored as league's player of the year.

(1) Rice 4, (2) SMU 1

Doubles
1. Barker/Barker (RU) def. Brunstrom/Soderberg (SMU), 8-5
2. Haerle/Rajevac (RU) def. Chingoka/Paul McNaughton (SMU), 8-5
3. Haerle/Searle (RU vs. Murgier/Oredsson (SMU), DNF

Singles
1. Robert Searle (RU) vs. Johan Brunstrom (SMU,) 3-6, 4-5, DNF
* 2. William Barker (RU) def. Gwinyai Chingoka (SMU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Richard Barker (RU) def. Lukasz Senczyszyn (SMU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Tony Haerle (RU) def. Federico Murgier (SMU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Alex Skrypko (SMU) def. Vuk Rajevac (RU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Ben Harknett (RU) vs. Peter Oredsson (SMU), 6-2, 5-4, DNF

2004 WAC Postseason Honors
First Team Singles
William Barker, Sr., Rice
Guillaume Bouvier, Sr., Boise State
Johan Brunstrom, Sr., SMU
Robert Searle, So., Rice
Greg Shearer, Jr., Fresno State
Dustin Taylor, Sr., Tulsa

Second Team Singles
Richard Barker, Sr., Rice
Tony Haerle, So., Rice
Charles Irie, Fr., Fresno State
Alex Krohn, Sr., Fresno State
Thomas Shoeck, So., Boise State
Stefan Suta, Sr., Fresno State
Alejandro Tejerina, Sr., Tulsa

First Team Doubles
Richard Barker / William Barker, Rice
Johan Brunstrom / Henrik Soderberg, SMU
Dustin Taylor / Alejandro Tejerina, Tulsa

Second Team Doubles
Guillaume Bouvier / Thomas Schoeck, Boise State
Jakub Cech / Alex Krohn, Fresno State
Gwinyai Chingoka / Paul McNaughton, SMU

Freshman of the Year: Alex Skrypko, SMU
Player of the Year: Johan Brunstrom, SMU
Coach of the Year: Ron Smarr, Rice