TicketSmarter WAC Tennis Athletes of the Month Announced
DENVER – NM State men's singles player Louis Menard, Seattle U women's singles player Mireia Fehr, NM State men's doubles team of Gijs Akkermans and Corey Clarke and women's doubles team of Lisa Zhu and Chloe Gavino have been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Players of the Month for September.
Menard, a senior from Annecy, France, finished the month of September with a 9-2 singles record as he and the Aggies competed in a trio of tournaments. He kicked off the year with a 4-0 record to take the singles title at the Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M. He then closed out the month with a strong showing at the ITA Mountain Regional where he finished 3-1 and advanced to the quarterfinal round of singles play, taking down opponents from Montana, Denver and Idaho.
Fehr, a freshman from Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, claimed the individual title in the Red Singles Draw at the Cougar Classic in Pullman, Wash. On the way to winning the tournament, Fehr did not drop more than two games across three matches, including taking down Portland State's Majo Hernandez 6-2, 6-2 in the championship match.
Akkermans, a sophomore from Sint-Michielsgestel, The Netherlands, and Clarke, a sophomore from Laurieton, Australia, combined to put together a 10-3 record in doubles action last month. The duo's top performance came at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains as they went a perfect 5-0 to win the doubles draw. In the title match, Akkermans and Clarke took down Montana State's Matej Panik and Daan van Dijk (6-3) to close out the three-day tournament.
Zhu, a freshman from Beijing, China, and Gavino, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., went 4-0 at the Aggies' lone event of the month, taking the crown in the doubles draw. The tandem secured wins over teams from fellow WAC member Abilene Christian along with New Mexico and UTEP to earn the title at the Aggie Invitational.
Other male singles nominees: Grand Canyon's Mariano Argote led the GCU men with a 2-1 singles record, picking up wins over Gonzaga's Oliver Andersson and Cal Poly's Carter Crookston… UT Rio Grande Valley's Chris Lawrance led the Vaqueros with a 3-3 record in singles play as made his UTRGV debut last month.
Other female singles nominees: Chicago State's Cali Fuller went 2-1 at the ITA Invitational, picking up wins over competitors from Illinois State and Eastern Michigan… NM State's Lisa Zhu went a perfect 3-0 last month as she bested a pair of WAC foes on her way to claiming the individual title at the Aggie Invitational... UT Rio Grande Valley's Lea Karren finished the month at 4-2 in singles play, highlighted by reaching the finals in the Flight C Draw at the Islander Open.
Other male doubles nominees: Grand Canyon's Mariano Argote and Jiri Novak fought their way to the semifinals of the top doubles flight at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic in Las Vegas last month… UT Rio Grande Valley's Carlo Izurieta and Misha Kvantaliani won the Flight A doubles title at the Contender CrossFit Islander Open.
Other female doubles nominees: Seattle U's Elena Kraleva and Jade Quintana earned a pair of wins at the Cougar Classic, including taking down their counterparts in the third-place match of the Crimson doubles draw… UT Rio Grande Valley's Ana Platisa and Alicia Thal led the Vaqueros with a 4-2 record in September, winning a pair of matches at the Contender CrossFit Islander Open and at the Javelina Invitational.