ON TAP IN WAC MEN’S TENNIS ? Hawai?i kicks-off off another week of Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis this week as the Rainbow Warriors try their luck in the Maui Invitational this week. Idaho competes in a double-header when it takes on Lewis and Clark State College and Whitman College in Lewiston, Idaho on Saturday. Traveling to Tuscon, Ariz., Nevada will play Northern Arizona on Saturday before taking on host Arizona on Sunday. Boise State heads to California to make its rounds against UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine. To close out the second week of competition, Fresno State plays host to Cal Poly.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Jan. 12-18 )
Denver - Hawai’i’s Dennis Lajola has been named Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week for the first week of competition, Jan. 12-18.
Lajola, a sophomore from Aiea, Hawaii (Isabella College), earned his No. 56 ranking last week with a 7-5, 7-5 defeat of No. 49 Kalim Stewart (No. 25 California) on Jan. 15. Lajola also led the Rainbow Warriors over No. 57-ranked San Diego State, 6-1, with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Bartosz Golas in the No. 1 spot on Jan. 17. Additionally, the sophomore teamed with Andreas Weber to defeat Golas and Tim Schulz van Endert at the No. 2 position, 8-2.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Kean Feeder and Utah State’s Jordan Barlow.
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.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos are now 1-0 after defeating Oregon in their season opener ... they add two new players to the roster: James Meredith and Matt Solomon who came to Boise State at the semester ... No. 90 Kean Feeder defeated Alex Cornelisson, 7-5, 6-4 before he paired with newcomer Meredith to take down Wilbowa/Mortera of Oregon ... they head to Southern California this coming week to face UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine and UCLA ... the Broncos have a league-best three players in the national rankings, led by No. 22 Clancy Shields and followed by Stanley Sarapanich (No. 85) and Kean Feeder (No. 90).
Fresno State Bulldogs
After a disappointing 4-2 loss to league-champion Hawai?i in the conference championship last year, the Bulldogs look to rebound for the 2009 spring season ... FS has earned a No. 41 ranking in the preseason polls and is poised to be a contender in the conference ... team-leader Rudy Siwy is coming off a run to the semifinals at the ITA Northern California Championships that earned him a No. 32 ranking in the nation ... the Bulldogs also boast the only nationally-ranked doubles team in conference with Siwy and teammate Mirko Zapletal garnering a No. 24 ranking ... the team opens its 2009 campaign with match against Cal Poly on Jan. 25 in Fresno, Calif.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors
The Rainbow Warriors will look to repeat as WAC champions after their first-ever conference title last season ... sophomore Dennis Lajola leads the squad with his No. 56 national ranking ... Lajola is also ranked No. 7 in the West region with teammate Sascha Heinemann (no. 15) ... the doubles duo of Heinemann/Andreas Weber sits at the No. 14 spot in the region ... UH opened its season with a 23-6 loss at the hands of No. 36 Kentucky ... the Rainbow Warriors then dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 25 California, but bounced back against No. 57 San Diego State with a 6-1 victory in Honolulu ... sophomore Dennis Lajola shined as he took down No. 459 Kalim Stewart (California) ... Hawai?i now prepares for the Maui Invitational Wednesday - Friday.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho enters the spring with two singles players ranked in the region, as Rob Chalkey and Artem Kuznetsov were recognized for the solid performances ... Kuznetsov, the WAC Men’s Tennis Player of November, earned a No. 28 in the ITA Mountain Region Rankings ... but it was senior Rob Chalkey coming in at the No. 21 ranking ... sophomore transfer Alexandru Joitoiu will see his first action since transferring from nationally-ranked Oklahoma in the winter ... UI opens the season on Jan. 24, in Lewiston, Idaho with matches against Lewis and Clark State College and Whitman College.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack open its season with back-to-back matches against Northern Arizona and Arizona on Jan. 24 ... both matches will be played in Tuscon ... lone-senior Benjamin David returns with an 8-15 singles record during the 2007-08 season, including five consecutive wins to finish the season ... junior Alex Daruty made it to the third day of the ITA Regional Championship in mid-November before falling to WAC foe Mirko Zepletal of Fresno State, 6-4, 6-2, in the Consolation Round of 32 ... junior Laurent Garcin leads the team this season after registered a school record with 27 wins during his 2007-08 campaign.
New Mexico State Aggies
NMSU enters the 2009 season with three players ranked in the mountain region ... junior Gustave Diep comes in at No. 10 in the ITA Mountain Region, while senior Roman Stoisavljevic is ranked No. 13 and sophomore Jim Brouleau at No. 16 ... in the doubles rankings, Stoisavljevic and junior Eduardo Salas earning a ranking of No. 9 regionally and Brouleau and Diep at two spots behind them at No. 11 ... this year, the Aggies look to improve on their school-best third-place finish in last years’ WAC Championship ... the team prepares for three-straight home matches beginning with Northern Arizona on Jan. 31 before a double-header against Abilene Christian and Western New Mexico on Feb. 1.
Utah State Aggies
Sophomore Jakob Asplund leads the Aggies after a stellar fall season when he won four singles matches at the ITA Regionals in mid-October ... the junior from Sweden won the consolation bracket to earn him a No. 18 ranking in the mountain region going into the 2009 season ... Asplund’s pairing with fellow-sophomore Bryan Marchant creates a dangerous doubles duo ... the Aggies are 0-3 on the season after a 5-2 loss to in-state rival Utah on Monday ... the Aggies have not won a season opening match since the 2004-05 season when they beat Idaho, 5-2 ... USU now has 10 days off before it travels to Pocatello, Idaho to take on Idaho State on Jan. 29.