Full Releases in PDF Format: Men / Women
WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley's Andres Hernandez and Chicago State's Monica Pulgar have been named Western Athletic Conference Tennis Players of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 20- March 6.
Hernandez, a freshman from Monterrey, Mexico (Laurel Springs High School) recorded his first singles victory in his first singles match of the season as he defeated UTSA's Ricardo Gonzalez 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. His victory at the No. 6 spot helped the Vaqueros clinch their match against UTSA in the H-E-B Tournament of Champions in Corpus Christi.
Pulgar, a freshman from Madrid, Spain (San Jose de Cluny High School) went 4-0 in singles and doubles against two Division 1 Horizon League teams. She teamed with Marnie Perez-Ochoa in doubles to defeat Green Bay's Maria Neff and Stephanie Londre 6-0. Pulgar faced Neff in Singles with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory which helped the Women defeat Green Bay 4-3. Pulgar and Perez Ochoa teamed again to defeat Milwaukee's Dana Shannon and Masha Lobanova 6-3. Pulgar then faced Shannon in Singles and won a very tight contest 7-6(1), 7-6(4).
Other women's nominees: NM State's Ashvarya Shrivastav fought tooth-and-nail on Saturday to down UTEP's Lois Wagenvoort 7-6, 7-6 (11-9). Seattle U's Michelle Lui was the only Redhawk to not allow her singles opponent a point, blanking George Fox's Sarah Tuemmler, 6-0, 6-0.
CHICAGO STATE
The cougars were on the road this week taking on Green Bay and Milwaukee. The women came up just short of a victory, dropping to Milwaukee, 4-3.
GRAND CANYON
The Grand Canyon women's tennis team has reached .500 this season with a win at home over Montana State. The Lopes found themselves in a nail-biter but prevailed 4-3 for their second straight victory. Grand Canyon will return to the court next week when they travel to face Hawai'i and Pacific.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY
The UMKC men's tennis team dropped a 4-0 contest at Wichita State on Wednesday, finishing a three-match road swing. The UMKC men's tennis squad played its first home outdoor contest of the season on Friday, taking out Olivet Nazarene by a 6-1 score. UMKC will be back in action on Wednesday at home against Northwest Missouri State in a doubleheader with the Roos women's team at 2 pm. The UMKC women's tennis squad took on the highest ranked opponent it has faced in the last five years, and came away with a point in a 6-1 loss to No. 13 Wichita State Thursday on the road. UMKC will be back in action next Wednesday at home against Northwest Missouri State in a doubleheader with the UMKC men's team at the Plaza Tennis Center.
NM STATE
The NM State women's tennis team continues to search for its groove this dual season as it dropped a 4-3 decision to UTEP on Saturday at the NMSU Tennis Center. NM State will now hit the road for a trio of matches next week, March 16-19, beginning with Mesa Community College (March 16). The Aggies will then open Western Athletic Conference play with a two-match cluster held at Grand Canyon. On March 18, the Aggies face off against UT Rio Grande Valley before taking on the host, GCU, on March 19.
SEATTLE U
Seattle University men's tennis (5-10) swept all three doubles matches and took five of six singles en route to a 6-1 win over Pacific Lutheran (1-5). Seattle U continues their homestand vs. Swarthmore on Thursday, Mar. 10 at 1 p.m. at Amy Yee Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash. The Redhawks blanked George Fox, 7-0, in their lone match on the weekend, not allowing GFU a doubles point, winning each of the three matches 6-0. Michelle Lui also held her opponent point-less at No. 1 singles … SU has two weeks off from competition before starting WAC play in Phoenix in two weekends.
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
The Vaqueros went 1-2 in the H-E-B Tournament of Champions to finish in sixth place. UTRGV fell 0-4 to Louisiana Lafayette but bounced back with a 4-2 win over UTSA and then closed out the tournament with a 0-4 loss to South Alabama. The Vaqueros will kick off a spring break trip that starts in Houston on Saturday against the Rice Owls. They will then face Nicholls State on March 14, New Orleans on March 15 and Lipscomb on March 17.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2016 WAC Tennis Championship travels to Brownsville, Texas from April 29th to May 1st. This year's championships will be hosted by Texas Rio Grand Valley. The New Mexico State men will look to repeat a WAC title. The Grand Canyon women won the regular season while New Mexico State won the tournament last season.