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NCAA Tournament Notes

WAC MENS TENNIS NOTEBOOK

SEVERAL WAC PLAYER EARN BIDS NCAA TOURNAMENT - Boise State's Luke Shields, WAC Freshman of the Year, earned an automatic qualifier from the Mountain Region. Shields and doubles partner Thomas Schoeck also earned an automatic qualifier from the Mountain Region. Rice's Robert Searle earned an at-large bid from the South Central Region.

Shields (ranked 47th) will play in the singles tournament. He and Schoeck (ranked 11th) will also be playing in the doubles tournament. Shields can earn All-American status by making it to the round of 16 in singles. He and Schoeck can be named All-Americans by making it to the quarter-finals in doubles. Boise State's most recent All-America in tennis was Guillaume Bouvier in the spring of 2004.

The men's singles and doubles tournament will be held May 25-30 in College Station, Texas, following the conclusion of the team tournament.

BOISE STATE, RICE AND SMU FALL IN NCAA TEAM TOURNAMENT - SMU was defeated by USC on Friday, 4-1, in first round action of the 2005 NCAA Mens Tennis Championships at Bill Quillian Stadium on the campus of the University of Washington. The Mustangs fell behind early 1-0 when they lost the doubles point and were unable to bounce back in singles. SMU finished the season at 15-13.

In the first round of the 2005 NCAA Men's Tennis Championnships, Rice lost a close battle with Texas in a 4-3 decision on Friday in Waco. With the loss, the Owls end the season at 15-10. While the team's season is over, Searle will continue competing starting on May 25 in the NCAA singles championships.

In the first round, Boise State defeated North Carolina, 4-1. The Broncos won the doubles point with wins at the number one and two positions. Luke Shield, Thomas Schoeck and Eric Roberson all captured singles win to seal the win. Texas A&M defeated Boise State 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, Idaho.

WAC PLAYERS EARN REGIONAL HONORS - Several WAC tennis players were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Tulsas Will Gray earned the Central Regions ITA Rookie of the Year award, while Luke Shields earned the same honor in the Mountain Region. Rices Robert Searle and Boise States Beck Roghaar earned the Arthur Ashe Awards for the South Central and Mountain Regions, respectively.

WAC Freshman of the Year, Luke Shields also garnered Rookie of the Year honors for the Mountain Region. Shields, who also earned first team all-WAC honors in singles and doubles, has won 29 singles matches this season. Tulsas Will Gray was the Central Region Rookie of the Year. Gray recorded a 30-9 record in his first year of collegiate competition. His 30 wins put him in a three-way tie for fourth place on the school's single season wins list with Louie Pranic (1994-95) and Nenad Toroman (1997-98).

CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW Boise State won its second WAC title, defeating Rice, 4-3, at the Hawaii Tennis Complex in Honolulu. The Broncos used all of four and half hours to earn the win, when Eric Roberson won in the third set at No. 5 singles, clinching the match. Boise State won its first WAC title in 2003.

The title match featured the past two champions as second-seeded Rice came into the tournament as the defending champions. The teams battled it out in doubles play. Boise State took the No. 2 court as Ikaika Jobe and Matias Silva defeated Tony Haerle and Filip Zivojinovic, 8-5. The Owls answered back with a win at No. 3 as Gabriel and Jason Mok upended Roberson and Brent Werbeck, 9-7. The match came down to the No. 1 court as BSU's Luke Shields and Thomas Schoeck edged Robert Searle and Ben Harknett, 9-7.

2005 POST-SEASON HONORS

First-Team all-WAC
Singles
Luke Shields, Boise State
Thomas Schoeck, Boise State
Jakub Cech, Fresno State
Robert Searle, Rice
Paul McNaughton, SMU
Ricardo Soriano, Tulsa

Doubles
Luke Shields/Thomas Schoeck, Boise State
Robert Searle/Ben Harknett, Rice
Paul McNaughton/Federico Murgier, Rice

Second-Team all-WAC
Singles
Matias Silva, Boise State
Charles Irie, Fresno State
Adam Jooste, Nevada
Tony Haerle, Rice
Ben Harknett, Rice
Bwunyai Chingoka, SMU

Doubles
Jakub Cech/Sergiu Modoc, Fresno State
Adam Jooste/Milos Popovic, Nevada
Tony Haerle/Filip Zivojinovic, Rice
Andy Connelly/Diego Camacho, Tulsa

Player of the Year:
Robert Searle, Jr., Rice

Freshman of the Year:
Luke Shields, Boise State

Coach of the Year:
Greg Patton, Boise State