ON TAP IN WAC MEN’S TENNIS ? This week, No. 37 Boise State headlines the action in the Western Athletic Conference as the conference’s No. 1 team travels to Los Angeles, Calif. to take on No. 4 UCLA. BSU will also prepare for this weekends’ main event, as it hosts a portion of the ITA Kickoff Tournament Qualifier in Boise. Another ranked team, No. 41 Fresno State, will host Cal Poly in a rescheduled match from last week. Idaho is busy yet again with matches against Samford and Oregon, while New Mexico State opens its 2009 season with three matches this weekend. Also, Utah State competes against Big Sky foe Idaho State.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Jan. 19-25 )
Denver - Boise State’s Clancy Shields has been named Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 19-25.
Shields, a senior from Grand Junction, Colo. (Grand Junction HS), finished undefeated last week after his 2-0 record in No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles play. The senior helped No. 37 Boise State knock off No. 62 UC Santa Barbara as well as No. 14 Pepperdine. In a match against UCSB, he beat Phillip Therp, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7, in the No. 1 spot. The 22nd-ranked Shields then beat Pepperdine’s Bassam Beidas (122), 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. He and partner Stanley Sarapanich defeated both UCSB’s Finkelstein/Konigsfeldt and Pepperdine’s Kamel/Llompart, 8-1, in No. 2 doubles.
Other male nominees: Nevada’s Wessim Derbel and Idaho’s Alex Joitoiu.
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 3-0 on the season, including wins over No. 14 Pepperdine and No. 62 UCSB this past weekend ... senior Clancy Shields earned the WAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Week honors by finishing the week 4-0 in singles and doubles play, with partner Stanley Sarapanich ... including a win against Pepperdine’s No. 122 Bassam Beidas the team adds two new players to the roster: James Meredith and Matt Solomon who came to Boise State at the semester ... they also 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) ... the Broncos will face No. 4 UCLA on Tuesday afternoon.
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 in a rescheduled match on Jan. 28 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 has more than a week break as it prepares for Cal in Berkeley on Feb. 7.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals opened their 2009 campaign in style as they finished 2-0 on the week ... UI took care of business against Lewis and Clark State College, 6-1, and Whitman College, 7-0 ... transfer Alex Joitoiu went 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles during the weekend ... Joitoiu racked up victories from the No. 1 and No. 2 spot in singles as the Vandals defeated Whitman College and Lewis and Clark State College ... Joitoiu also had a pair of doubles victories while playing from the No. 1 spot ... Idaho will take a trip up to Eugene, Ore. for a match against Oregon before stopping in Portland to take on UC Davis.
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack opened its season on a good note when it took down Northern Arizona, 4-3, in a thriller ... the celebration was short-lived as the Nevada fell to No. 50 Arizona in Tucson, 6-1 ... freshman Wessim Derbel made his collegiate career debut last weekend and went unbeaten in singles ... he defeated Northern Arizona’s Robin Pezzutto 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in No. 4 singles before he defeated No. 50 Arizona’s Ravid Hazi, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 in the No. 3 singles spot ... the Wolf Pack will face Ponoma-Pitzer on Feb. 14, at Riverside, Calif., the match is set to begin at 1 p.m ... the team will also face UC Riverside the next day (Feb. 15).
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 Jan.19 ... 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.