PLAYER OF THE MONTH ? Boise State’s Clancy Shields has been named Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Month for the month of October.
Shields, a senior from Grand Junction, Colo. (Grand Junction HS), earned an automatic bid into the ITA National Indoor Championships by winning the Mountain Region Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. on Oct. 19. Shields, playing as the No.1 seed, went 6-0 in singles play and 3-1 in doubles, reaching the semifinals with teammate Kean Feeder as the No. 2 seeded duo.
Other male nominees included: Fresno State’s Rudolf Siwy won two matches in the ITA All-American main draw to reach the round of 16, including a victory over No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu of Miami. New Mexico State’s Jim Brouleau went 1-1 in singles at the 2008 D’Novo All-American Championships and then reached the Round of 16 at the ITA Mountain Region Championships.
SHIELDS STELLAR FOR BRONCOS - For the third consecutive season, Shields was the top name in the men’s open singles draw at the ITA Mountain Region Championships. Following in the shoes of his older brother Luke, the Bronco senior earned the 2008 ITA Mountain Region singles title at the Amanda & Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center in Las Vegas. No. 1 seeded Shields earned a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Denver University’s No. 28 seeded Martin Zimmerman.
BULLDOGS’ SIWY REACHES SEMIFINALS IN ITA REGIONAL - Senior Rudolf Siwy faced Bradley Klahn in the semifinals of the 2008 ITA Northern Cal Championships. Siwy and Klahn battled throughout the match. Klahn won the first set 6-3, but the Bulldog battled back to win the second set 6-4 forcing a third and final set. Klahn prevailed in the final set, winning the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Siwy finished the tournament with a 3-1 record in singles.
RAINBOW WARRIORS GEAR UP FOR FUTURES - Hawai’i men’s tennis team will compete in the USTA Honolulu Futures Tournament, Nov. 8-16, at the Central Oahu Regional Park. This USTA Pro Circuit tournament is an individual singles and doubles tournament. Seniors Sascha Heinemann and Kevin Okasaki, juniors Andreas Weber and Spence Mendoza, sophomore Craig Faulk, and freshman Chad Rubin will take part in the 64-player singles qualifying draw. Eight qualifiers will advance to the 32-player main draw, beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Sophomore and defending champion Dennis Lajola has already earned a spot in the main draw.
The Rainbow Warriors have three players ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings. Heinemann is ranked No. 53. Weber is No. 76 and Lajola is ranked No. 89. Lajola leads the team with a 6-2 singles record.
IDAHO BATTLES WAC FOES IN ITA - Vandal senior Rob Chalkley advanced to the round of 16 in the singles draw of the tournament. Chalkley defeated No. 14 seed Pannhara Mam of Eastern Washington University and No. 21 seed Stefan McKinney of New Mexico State University before falling to top seed and eventual tournament champion Clancy Shields of Boise State University.
DARUTY falls IN ROUND OF 32 - On the third day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championship, Nevada junior Alex Daruty fell on Sunday. In the round of 32 back draw, Daruty lost 6-4, 6-2 to No. 85 Mirko Zapletal of Fresno State.
Wolf Pack Tennis was scheduled to play in Moraga, Calif. in the Gael Classic but due to an expected weather forecast, Saint Mary’s announced that the tournament has been canceled.
Stoisavljevic Finishes Strong as Aggies End Fall Season - New Mexico State senior Roman Stoisavljevic won two singles matches in straight sets to put an end to the ITA Mountain Region Championships for the Aggie men’s tennis team at the Darling Tennis Center. His two victories send the Aggies out on a good note, as the fall tournament season came to an end.
UTAH STATE ENDS SEASON ON A GOOD NOTE - Sophomores Jakob Asplund and Bryan Marchant were the only two Aggies to compete in the second day of the ITA Regional Tournament in Las Vegas, with Asplund playing in singles and Marchant only teaming with Asplund in doubles. Asplund and Marchant fell in the third round of doubles consolation, 8-4, to Denver’s David Simpson and Yannick Weihs.
In singles action Asplund was leading in the fourth and final round of singles consolation, 4-3, when Boise State’s Stanley Sarapanich withdrew due to an injury, resulting in a win for Asplund.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN honolulu - This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will return to Honolulu, Hawaii on the campus of Hawai?i, April 23-26. The 2008 champion, Hawai?i, will look to defend its’ crown after it earned its first-ever WAC title with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Fresno State.