DENVER – Fresno State’s Remi Boutillier and Idaho’s Almudena Sanz have been named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Feb. 13-19.
Boutillier, a senior from Briancon, France (Externat Notre Dame), ranked No. 14 in the nation, edged No. 37 Ryan Thacher in a tiebreaker, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), to earn Fresno State a 4-3 victory over No. 9 Stanford. Boutillier’s victory came in the final match of the day, completing a Bulldog comeback. This was the first time that Fresno State has defeated Stanford.
Sanz, a sophomore from Oviedo, Spain, went 5-1 last weekend, including an impressive 3-0 in No. 2 singles play. Sanz claimed singles victories over Colorado State’s Lauren Mulhern, 7-6, 6-3, Northern Colorado’s Elizabeth Tapia, 6-2, 6-2, and Wyoming’s Simona Synkova, 6-2, 3-6, (10-7). She, along with partner Sophie Vickers, added two wins at No. 3 doubles, against CSU and UNC. Sanz was then bumped up to play No. 1 doubles with Vicky Lozano, and in the pair’s first match together, they were given the task of facing UW’s Synkova and Veronica Popovici, who won the regional championship and a round at nationals earlier this season. Sanz and Lozano performed admirably against the duo, falling in a tiebreaker, 9-8.
Other men’s nominees included: Nevada senior Wessim Derbel.
Other women’s nominees included: Nevada freshman Rymma Maslova … New Mexico State senior Manon Sylvain … Utah State senior Julie Tukuafu.