DENVER - With several teams already in action and several others set to compete in the coming weeks, WAC men's fall tennis is officially in full swing.
FRESNO STATE’S SIWY SOLID AT ITA ALL-AMERICAN ? Fresno State junior Rudolph Siwy opened the 2007-08 season with a confident win at the ITA All-American in Tulsa, Okla. on Oct. 1. Siwy beat New Mexico’s Graeme Kassautzki 6-1, 7-6 (1) during the first day of qualifying.
After trailing 2-0 and 3-1 in the first set, Siwy chalked up another victory in straight sets on Oct. 2, beating Mississippi’s Jakob Klaeson 6-3, 6-4, putting him just one win away from the All-American main draw.
Siwy then stormed into the ITA All-American main draw by beating No. 114 Reid Carleton of Duke in three sets during the final round of qualifying. Siwy, who is currently unranked, has certainly proved himself worthy of the All-American’s main draw, looks to do some damage in his main draw first round matchup.
FEEDER AND SHIELDS BORTHERS IN ALL-AMERICAN ACTION ? Boise State’s Kean Feeder advanced to the second qualifying round of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Okla. with a hard fought three-set victory over Arizona’s Bruno Alcala. In the second round Feeder defeated Arizona State’s Matt Brooklyn, ranked 71st nationally, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Feeder than fell in his final qualifying match to North Carolina’s Ben Carlotti in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, and as a result did not advance to the main draw.
In doubles action, the Shields brothers, Luke and Clancy, currently ranked 30th in the nation as a pair, swept their first two qualifying match opponents. The first victory came over Ohio State’s Allare & Novak by a score of 8-2, followed by a 8-3 win over USC’s McNaughton & Poldama. The Shields brothers then fell to No. 56 Baker & Sramek of South Alabama, 8-5. However, the tournament will continue for both Luke and Clancy, as they were selected as automatic qualfiers into the singles main draw which will begin Oct. 4.
WEBER AND HEINEMANN IN MAIN DRAW AT ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR THE RAINBOW WARRIORS ? Sascha Heinemann advanced to the second round in the qualifying draw after rolling over David Kuczer of Southern Methodist in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. He then dropped Hicham Laalej of Stetson in two convincing sets 6-1, 6-2, and then earned a spot in the main singles draw at the prestigious Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships after ousting Ricardo Soriano of Tulsa in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(4). The Eschwege, Germany native, ranked No. 50 in the ITA preseason singles rankings, will play qualifier and No. 88 Dominik Daescu of Oklahoma on Oct. 4.
Rainbow Warrior sophomore Andreas Weber, ranked No. 28, received an automatic entry into the main singles draw, and will face 34th-ranked Jerry Makowski of Texas A&M on Oct. 4.
AGGIES TO COMPETE IN UNM BALLOON FIESTA CLASSIC ? New Mexico State netters travel to Albuquerque to participate in the UNM Baloon Fiesta Classic, Oct. 5-7, its third tournament appearance this fall. The Aggies will join Air Force, Northern Arizona, Glendale Community College, Western New Mexico, Danver and New Mexico for competition at the Lobo Tennis Center.
Junior Roman Stoisavljevic and sophomore Gustave Diep, coming off their appearances at the Polo All-American Championships, look to build on their successes from a year ago. Junior Stefan McKinney, after starting the fall with a team-best 8-2 singles mark, will team up with sophomore Alejandro de Mucha to lead the doubles march after their second place finish in the B doubles draw at the Baylor Invitational on Sept. 23.
IDAHO’S POTAPKIN TAKES SECOND IN CLAY COURT TOURNAMENT ? Idaho freshman Andrey Potapkin had a dominant day at the Collegiate Clay Court Invitational in Montgomerey, Ala., first defeating Benjamin Chomette of Troy State, then rallying to overtake top-seeded Rok Bizjak of Clemson 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Potapkin advanced to the championship match after defeating Freddy Luciani of Lindsey Wilson College 7-6, 6-4. Awaiting Potapkin in the singles final was Alberto Gonzales from Auburn-Montgomerey. Although he had a solid outing, Potapkin could not overcome Gonzales in the finals, falling 6-1, 6-3.
UTAH STATE FRESHMAN JAKOB ASPLUND STRONG AT UTAH FALL CLASSIC ? Aggie freshman Jakob Asplund went 2-0 in singles action at day one of the Utah Fall Classic hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah. Asplund defeated Northern Arizona’s Matt Cowley 6-0, 7-6, and then topped another Lumberjack, Jake Beherns 6-1, 6-2, advancing him to the Round of 16. On the second day of the Classic, Asplund battled first-seeded James Ludlow of BYU, falling 7-5, 6-3.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH ? Boise State’s Paul Koenke has been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Month for September. This is the first Tennis Players of the Month for the 2007 Fall season.
Koenke, a junior who hails from Denver, Colo., (Denver East/Clemson), won his singles bracket at the prestigious UVA Fall Invitational Sept. 14-16 in Charlottesville, Va., going undefeated at 4-0. After fighting through the early rounds with three-set victories, Koenke won both his semifinal and championship matches in straight sets, notching a 6-4, 6-5 victory over Binghamton’s Sebastian Dietz in the championship. Koenke teamed up with Eric Roberson in doubles action where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to the eventual champion duo from Virginia by a score of 8-5.
Other men’s tennis nominees included: Andrey Potapkin of Idaho was the runner-up in both the singles and doubles championships at the MCC Clay Court Championships in Montgomery, Ala., with an impressive second-round victory over Clemson’s No. 1, Rok Bizjak ... Jim Brouleau of New Mexico State went 5-2 in singles action and 5-1 in doubles play with teammate Gustave Diep in September, claiming the top singles and doubles championship at the Aggie Invitational on Sept. 16 in Las Cruces ... Jakob Asplund of Utah State notched a 5-3 record in September, winning the singles consolation match at the Boise State Open Sept. 7-9.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN LAS CRUCES ? This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Las Cruces, New Mexico on the campus of New Mexico State, April 24-27. The 2007 champion, Boise State, will look to win its fourth-straight title. Last season, the host Boise State took the title at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, defeating second-seeded Fresno State, 4-0.
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