TicketSmarter WAC Tennis Athletes of the Month Announced
DENVER – NM State men's singles player Louis Menard, women's singles player Lisa Zhu, men's doubles team of Menard and Martin Simecek and Grand Canyon women's doubles team of Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha have been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Players of the Month for October.
Menard, a senior from Annecy, France, picked up his second straight monthly award as he continued his dominant play in singles action, finishing with an undefeated record last month. Menard went 3-0 at the Arizona Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., including picking up a win in the championship match over Arizona's Gustaf Strom (6-0, 4-6, 6-1). Before falling to Menard, Strom entered the match as the 35th ranked men's singles player in NCAA Division I.
Zhu, a freshman from Beijing, China, finished the month of October with a 5-2 record, highlighted by a trio of wins to reach the quarterfinals of the ITA Mountain Regional. She also closed the month out by going 2-1 at the UNM Halloween Howl in the final weekend of last month. In the fall, Zhu has put together an 8-3 record in one-on-one play.
Menard and Simecek, a junior from Prerov, Czech Republic, turned in a 2-1 record to lead the Aggies at the Arizona Invitational. The duo earned 6-3 wins over two GCU teams, while its lone loss came to Gonzaga's Bassetiere and McDonald.
Puehse, a junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., and Strombacha, a sophomore from Berlin, Germany, finished the month with a 6-2 record, highlighted by a tournament victory at the Beach Tennis Tournament. In Flight No. 1 action, the Lopes' tandem went 3-0 in Long Beach, Calif., as they picked up wins over teams from UC Irvine and Long Beach State. Puehse and Strombacha also combined to earn a win at the ITA Southwest Regional.
Other male singles nominees: Grand Canyon's Mariano Argote led the GCU men with a 3-2 record in singles play, reaching the Round of 16 at the Southern California Intercollegiates… UT Rio Grande Valley's Sam Whitehead earned a tough win over SMU's Eddie Ross, taking the match 2-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Other female singles nominees: Grand Canyon's Natasha Puehse paced the Lopes with a 6-3 singles record last month as she won the consolation draw at the Beach Tennis Tournament and took third at the SDSU Fall Classic… UT Rio Grande Valley's Marjorie Souza advanced to the finals in the Flight A at the Islander Open as she leads the Vaqueros with five singles victories this fall.
Other male doubles nominees: Grand Canyon's Wyatt Anderson and Loic Van Zeggelaar led the Lopes with a 2-1 doubles record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the main draw at the Southern California Intercollegiates… UT Rio Grande Valley's Alberto Mello and Carlo Izurieta picked up the team's lone doubles win at ITA Regionals.
Other female doubles nominees: NM State's Harsha Challa and Lisa Zhu came away from October as the Aggies' top doubles team, finishing 5-2, including reaching the quarterfinals of the ITA Mountain Regional… UT Rio Grande Valley's Marjorie Souza and Stefanie Wilske advanced to the doubles finals in Flight B at the Islander Open.