AKBAR NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Idaho's Abid Akbar has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Month for November.
Akbar, a sophomore from Islamabad, Pakistan (Roots School), went a combined 6-1 in singles and doubles matches for the month of November. Akbar battled his way into the semifinals of the singles Gold Flight division at the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate on Nov. 5-7, posting a 3-1 record. He also teamed up with Jake Knox to win the Gold doubles bracket, going 3-0 against teams from Eastern Washington, Oregon and Washington. Akbar and Knox claimed the doubles title after defeating Washington's duo of Max Manthou and Matt Stith, 8-4.
Other male nominees included: Wessim Derbel, Nevada
HAWAI'I FALLS TO NO. 1 STANFORD IN EXHIBITION
The Rainbow Warriors competed in both singles and doubles against national and Pac-10 powerhouse Stanford in an exhibition match Nov. 23. Stanford took all six matches, but Hawai'i came to play. Senior Dennis Lajola took defending NCAA singles champion Bradley Klahn to a tiebreaker in the first set, before falling 7-6, 6-2. Fellow senior Jeremy Tweedt was also highly competitive in a 7-6, 6-3 loss to No. 59 Ryan Thacher. Sophomore Dmytro Kovalyov almost defeated Matt Kandath in a super tie-breaker but eventually lost, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8).
IDAHO PERFORMS WELL IN FINAL FALL TOURNAMENT
The Vandals wrapped up their season at the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate in Seattle, Wash., on Nov. 5-7. The tournament was highlighted by Abid Akbar and Jake Knox claiming the Gold Flight doubles title. The duo defeated Washington's Max Manthou and Matt Stith, 8-4. In singles action, Akbar advanced to the Gold semi-finals before succumbing to Manthou 6-1; 6-1.
NEVADA'S FALL SEASON CUT SHORT
The Wolf Pack had their fall season cut short on Nov. 7, as the final 34 matches of the Gael Classic were cancelled due to rain. Only the first day of competition was played. Nevada went 1-1 in the singles flight A, as sophomore Stefan Dmitrovic defeated Lucas Tirelli of Saint Mary's 7-5, 7-6 (4). Wessim Derbel fell to second seeded Kyle Dandan in another close match, losing 7-6 (4), 7-5. Derbel rebounded with a straight set win over Maxime Olivan in the consolation draw, while Dmitrovic fell in the quarters Saturday afternoon.
BOISE STATE'S PATTON TO COACH U.S. TEAM
The United States Tennis Association announced, Thursday (Nov. 18), that Boise State men's tennis coach Greg Patton has been selected to help lead the U.S. for the second consecutive year at the Master'U BNP Paribas international collegiate tennis competition. The event, which is scheduled for Dec. 9-12 in Rouen, France, will feature eight teams made up of some of the top college and university players from around the world.
WAC IN THE PRESEASON RANKINGS
The WAC has one singles player ranked in the 2009 preseason ITA rankings. Boise State's James Meredith garners the No. 40 spot in the 2010 preseason ITA rankings. There were no doubles teams in the WAC ranked by the ITA.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN BOISE
The 2010 WAC Tennis Tournament will be held April 29-May 1 in Boise, Idaho. Hawai'i, winners of three-straight WAC Tournament titles, defeated No. 2-seed Fresno State, 4-3 in last year's tournament.