SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 1
#35 Boise State at Utah State, 11:30 a.m. MT
#17 Fresno State at #42 San Diego State, TBA
#20 Michigan at #74 Hawai’i, 2:00 p.m. HT
Friday, March 2
Seattle at Utah State, 2:00 p.m. MT
Sacramento State at Nevada, 5:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 3
Idaho vs. Eastern Washington, 9:00 a.m. PT
Idaho at Lewis-Clark State College, 3:00 p.m. PT
Pacific at Nevada, 5:00 p.m. PT
*WAC matchup
WAC MEN’S TENNIS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Feb. 20-26)
Fresno State’s David Ayoun has been named Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Athlete of the Week for Feb. 20-26.
Ayoun, a senior from Creteil, France (Lycee Darsonval), along with
partner Jean-Charles Diame, clinched the point for the ‘Dogs with their
victory over No. 63 UNLV’s Johannes Markel and Rene Ruegamer, 8-3, at
No. 3 doubles. Ayoun later earned the first Bulldog singles victory of
the day when he bested Charlie Alvarado, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 5 spot. He
was the only Bulldog to have a perfect record for the day, as the
Bulldogs picked up a 5-2 victory. He has been a driving force behind the
Bulldog’s eight-game winning streak and climb to the No. 25 spot in the
nation. The senior has an impressive 9-1 record for the season in
singles, with a win against No. 9 Stanford, and a 4-3 record in doubles.
Other men’s nominees included: Utah State freshman Matt Sweet.
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the Feb. 7 ITA rankings, three of the six WAC teams are ranked in the top 75. Fresno State is the highest ranked WAC team at No. 16, New Mexico State is ranked at No. 69, and Hawai’i is ranked at No. 74.
Individually, the WAC has three singles players ranked in the top 100. Remi Boutillier of Fresno State is the top-ranked WAC player, at No. 17, while his teammate Francis Alcantara is No. 52. Wessim Derbel of Nevada garnered a ranking of No. 87. In doubles, the lone WAC team ranked is Idaho’s Andrew Dobbs and Marius Cirstea, at No. 42.
TEAM RECAPS
FRESNO STATE
Fresno State improved to 4-1 against ranked opponents on season with a 5-2 victory over No. 57 UNLV last Sunday. The Bulldogs are now ranked No. 17 in the country. David Ayoun was the only Bulldog to go undefeated in both singles and doubles matches on the day.
This week, The Bulldogs travel to San Diego, Calif., on Thursday to face No. 42 San Diego State. The Bulldogs are also scheduled to send select athletes to the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament in San Diego.
HAWAI’I
In its last action, Hawai’i fell to No. 9 Stanford, 6-1, on Feb. 7. UH moved in the ITA rankings for the first time this season, earning the No. 74 slot in the Feb. 28 rankings.
This week, Hawai’i returns to action when it hosts No. 20 Michigan on Thursday.
IDAHO
In its last action, Idaho travelled to Nebraska for three matches, two of which came against ranked teams, going 1-2 on the trip from Feb. 18-20. Idaho fell to both No. 38 Nebraska and No. 73 Drake, but rallied to close the trip with a 4-3 victory over Creighton.
This week, Idaho will be in action next against Eastern Washington and Lewis-Clark State College, on Saturday.
NEVADA
In its last action, Nevada went 1-1, falling at Brigham Young, 7-0, on Feb. 17, and defeating Idaho State, 4-1, on Feb. 18. All three Nevada doubles teams won against Idaho State, putting the Wolf Pack ahead 1-0.
This week, Nevada returns to action against Sacramento State, opening the home portion of the schedule. The home stand concludes on Saturday with a match vs. Pacific.
NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State is in the midst of a break that will last nearly a month, since Feb. 10. The Aggies return to action again on March 8 against Air Force.
UTAH STATE
Utah State defeated Weber State 4-3 on Feb. 22, for its third win of the season.
This week, the Aggies’ six-dual homestead continues with matches against Boise State, on Thursday, and Seattle, Saturday.