ON TAP IN WAC MEN’S TENNIS ? Western Athletic Conference teams finished 4-2 last week, including wins against three teams ranked in the ITA national rankings. No. 54 Hawai?i, Idaho, Utah State and Nevada are all in action this week, with four of the six matches being on the road.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Feb. 2-8 )
Denver ? Boise State’s Kean Feeder has been named Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Players of the Week for Feb. 2?8.
Feeder, a senior from Portland, Ore. (Cascade College), helped Boise State finish 2-0 against ranked teams over the weekend. He was the only Bronco to finish 2-0 in singles play in dual matches against No. 71 Oklahoma (4-3) and No. 39 Washington (4-3). First, No. 90 Feeder upset No. 76 Sergey Avdeyev of Oklahoma, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. He then followed his performance with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Patrik Fischer of Washington. The senior also paired up with teammate James Meredith to take down Washington’s Kildah/Nedunchezhiyan, 8-5, to help win the doubles point for Boise State. Feeder, at No. 1 doubles, now boasts a 7-1 record in singles play and a 5-3 doubles mark in dual matches this season.
Other male nominees: Hawai?i’s Dennis Lajola and New Mexico State’s Gustave Diep.
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 snapped their three-game losing streak after a 4-3 victories over No. 71 Oklahoma and No. 39 Washington this weekend ... senior Kean Feeder (90) was the only Bronco to finish 2-0 in singles play ... Boise State improved to 5-3 on the season as well as a 4-3 record against nationally ranked teams ... the team has played the most ranked teams among the seven conference teams thus far this season ... the Broncos have a weekend off from play after not qualifying for the ITA Team Indoor Nationals in Chicago ... their next competition will take place on Sat., Feb. 21 at Virginia followed by a match on Sun., Feb. 22 at College of William and Mary in Virginia.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State got its season off to a good start with a 6-1 victory over Cal Poly, in a rescheduled match .... the celebration was short-lived as the team traveled south to Los Angeles, Calif. to try its luck in the ITA Indoor Tournament Qualifier ... the Bulldogs took care of business in the opening round with a 4-3 win over SMU ... No. 32 Rudolf Siwy earned his keep when he made quick work of SMU’s Chris Hooshyar, 6-2, 6-3 ... the team then met No. 4 UCLA, but couldn’t find its stride against the host Bruins in a 4-1 loss ... two matches were cancelled due to weather ... Fresno State also had its double-header canceled last weekend due to weather conditions ... the team is off until a roadtrip to Seattle on Feb. 21 to take on Oregon and Washington.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors
The Rainbow Warriors are 1-2 in the midst of a tough schedule against six ranked teams ... No. 54 UH dropped one spot in the national rankings after a 4-3 loss to No. 24 California over the weekend ... No. 56 Dennis Lajola defeated No. 74 Pedro Zerbini of No. 24 California, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(8) ... Lajola boasts a 12-4 singles record, including a 3-0 record in dual matches for UH ... the team prepares for two ranked teams this week as it concludes its California road trip ... first, the Rainbow Warriors get set to take on No. 50 San Diego in San Diego before traveling to Moraga, Calif. to compete against No. 67 St. Mary’s.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals opened their 2009 campaign in style as they finished 2-0 ... 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 ...the team then finished out last weekend 2-1, dropping a 6-1 decision to Oregon in Eugene, but bounced back against Samford and UC Davis ... UI defeated Samford, a 2008 NCAA Tournament team, 5-2 before taking down a highly regarded UC Davis squad in a 4-3 thriller ... after a week off, Idaho returns to the road this weekend in a match against Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. on Feb. 13.
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
New Mexico State’s 5-0 start to the season marked the first time in the last 10 years that the Aggies have won their first five matches ... The Aggies’ 4-3 win over No. 72 UNLV was their first win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 22, 2004, when they beat No. 70 Denver 6-1 in Las Cruces ... the Aggies’ bid for a 6-0 start to the season fell short in a 4-3 loss to Cal Poly in their last match in Las Vegas ... New Mexico State has won 29-of-36 singles matches this season and cracked the ITA national rankings at No. 75 ... Junior Gustave Diep is 6-0 in singles play ... the teams’ No. 1 doubles team of senior Roman Stoisavljevic and junior Eduardo Salas are 4-1 together this year... the team now has a week off before home matches against Montana State, Idaho and Texas- Pan American on Feb. 19-21.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State earned its first win of the season at Idaho State last week ... the Aggies took a 6-1 match from the Bengals ... in singles action, freshman Jordan Barlow swept David Kutchins in a 6-0, 6-0, match at number six singles ... at number two singles junior Amit Maharaj battled and defeated ISU’s Danel Barrenchea, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4 .... USU took the doubles point winning at all three spots ... sophomores Jakob Asplund and Marchant defeated the Bengals’ Javier Royo and Ross Dechant, 8-2, while Mahraj and Thatcher battled Danel Barrenechea and Alex Bucea winning, 9-8, 12-10, at the No. 2 spot ... the team returns to action this week when it hosts Montana State-Billings on Feb. 13.