DE VILLIERS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fresno State’s Rikus de Villiers has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 25-31. This is his first-ever honor.
A junior from Durban, South Africa, de Villiers led Fresno State to a 3-0 record on the week, with wins over No. 71 Pacific, No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 34 Rice. In singles action, de Villiers went undefeated at the No. 2 spot, including a three-set match victory over Texas A&M’s Alexis Klegou, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. He also went 3-0 with partner Remi Boutillier in doubles action, including an 8-6 victory over No. 18 Austin Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo of Texas A&M, as part of the Bulldogs’ monumental 4-3 upset of the Aggies in College Station. The victories qualified the Bulldogs for the prestigious ITA National Team Indoors Sweet 16 and a chance to face as many as four Top 16 teams.
Other nominees included: Boise State’s Filipp Pogostkin was the only Bronco to win both singles matches at the ITA Kickoff last weekend … Lachlan Reed of Idaho went 3-0 at No. 2 singles and 3-0 at No. 1 doubles last week ... Utah State’s Sven Poslusny went 1-1 at No. 2 singles and 2-0 at No. 2 doubles last week.
FRESNO STATE OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2004
Fresno State is off to its best since head coach Jay Udwadia took over the program in 2004, with a 5-0 record, which includes three wins over ranked opponents. The biggest victory of the year for the Bulldogs was a 4-3 upset of No. 12 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, in the first qualifying round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships last Saturday. The following round, they swept No. 34 Rice, 4-0, to punch their ticket to the National Team Indoors Sweet 16.
HAWAI’I GOES 1-1 AT ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
Hawai’i suffered its first loss of the season to No. 4 UCLA, 4-1, during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend last Saturday. By finishing in the top 60 of the final 2009 ITA poll, the Rainbow Warriors gained an invitation to the Kick-Off Weekend, in essence the qualifying rounds for the 2010 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. UH, however, could not get past fourth-ranked UCLA in what was a rematch of the 2009 NCAA second round tilt won by the Bruins.
Each team is guaranteed two matches during the weekend, so the Rainbow Warriors faced No. 37 South Florida Sunday, earning a 4-0 win. The Rainbow Warriors won the doubles point, then clinched the win with three decisive singles victories. UH also led in two of the three unfinished singles matches.
IDAHO PICKS UP THREE WINS OVER THE WEEKEND
Idaho notched wins over UC Santa Cruz (5-2), Lewis-Clark State (6-0) and Gonzaga (6-1) last weekend to improve to 3-2 on the season. Lachlan Reed put in an impressive display for Idaho, going undefeated in both singles and doubles play over the three matches
UTAH STATE GOES 1-1 IN LAS VEGAS
Utah State fell 7-0 UNLV last Friday before defeating Northern Arizona 5-2 on Saturday. Northern Arizona picked up the doubles point, but USU dominated singles play by taking the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 spots. Sven Poslusny and Amit Maharaj won both their single and doubles matches, going 2-0 on the day.
PATTON PICKS UP 300TH VICTORY WITH WIN OVER OREGON
Greg Patton earned his 300th win at Boise State with a 4-3 victory over Oregon Jan. 21. Tied 3-3 after the doubles matches and five singles matches had completed, the Broncos’ win came down to the No. 4 singles match, played by Cristian Hodel. He had split the first two sets of the match with Oregon’s Ric Mortera, 4-6, 6-3, and came back from a 3-0 deficit to earn a thrilling 6-4 third-set win and give the Broncos the win. With the win, Patton improved to 300-101 in his career at Boise State.
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the Jan. 26 ITA team rankings, the WAC has three teams ranked in the top 50. Boise State leads the way at No. 21, followed by Hawai’i and Fresno State at Nos. 42 and 46, respectively.
Individually, the WAC has three singles players ranked in the top 100 of the Jan. 5 ITA individual rankings. Leading the way at No. 35 is Boise State’s James Meredith, followed by of Jim Brouleau of New Mexico State at No. 56. Rounding out the group is David Ayoun of Fresno State at No. 83.
In doubles, Fresno State’s Mirko Zapletal and Taylor Leiby are ranked No. 20, while teammates Rikus de Villiers and Remi Boutillier are No. 36. Idaho’s Alex Joitoiu and Lachlan Reed are No. 58.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN FRESNO
The 2010 WAC Tennis Tournament will be held April 29-May 2 in Fresno, Calif., where Hawai‘i will look for its third-straight crown. Last year, the Rainbow Warriors knocked off top-seeded Boise State, 4-2.