DENVER - New Mexico State's Matej Stakne and Boise State's Lauren Megale have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Tennis Players of the Month for October.
Stakne, a junior from Rab, Croatia (Gymnasium HS), exceeded expectations by advancing to the semifinals at the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament that was held in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 20-24. Stakne won five consecutive matches en route to the semifinals, with his most impressive win coming in the quarterfinals of the singles main draw against No. 3 seed Yannick Weihs of Denver. He came from behind to beat Weihs 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. Stakne was the only player not seeded in the top 25 left in the tournament by the round of 16. He was also the only WAC player to advance past the round of 16.
Megale, a senior from Boise, Idaho (Arizona State), capped off an impressive month with a semifinals appearance at the ITA Mountain Regional Championship held in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 20-24. Megale battled her way to the semi-final, where she lost to No. 1 seeded Anastasia Putilina of Utah, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Megale and teammate Sonia Klamczynska also advanced to the round of eight in doubles competition at the regional championship. Megale recorded a 6-4 singles record to go along with a 5-2 doubles record over the month of October. Her four singles losses came against opponents ranked in the top-75.
Other male nominees included: Filipp Pogostkin, Boise State; David Ayoun, Fresno State; Lachlan Reed, Idaho; Wessim Derbel, Nevada; Jakob Asplund, Utah State
Other female nominees included: Katarin Poljakova, Hawai'i; Marianne Jodoin, Fresno State; Lauren Simpson, Idaho; Michelle Okhremchuk, Nevada; Isabela Kulaif, New Mexico State; Chau Truong, San Jose State; Hailey Swensen, Utah State