This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - April 15
This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - April 15
LANG, GRANT AND VAN ZEGGELAAR NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Grand Canyon's Valentin Lang and Grand Canyon doubles team Freddie Grant and Loic Van Zeggelaar have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Tennis Athletes of the Week for April 7 through April 12.
Lang, a senior from Mulhous, France, finished the WAC regular season with a statement as he did not drop a game in his fourth straight win of the season. He defeated Seattle U's Eli Ogilvy in top-flight action on Saturday, winning 6-0, 6-0. Lang now leads the Lopes with five singles wins and concludes WAC play as the lone men's player to post a perfect record at the No. 1 spot.
Grant, a senior from Surrey, England, and Van Zeggelaar, a freshman from Roquefort-les-Pins, France, clinched the doubles point as the duo took down Seattle U's Mats Krause and Billy Givens-Jensen (6-1). With the win, Grant and Zeggelaar finished the WAC season with an undefeated 3-0 record and are riding a four match win streak.
Other men's singles nominees: Chicago State's Pedro Alvarez took down NM State's Jordy Visser to claim his ninth-straight singles victory… NM State's Nicolas Buitrago helped the Aggies clinch a share of the WAC title as he won his sixth-straight singles match.
Other men's doubles nominees: Chicago State's Javier Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez earned a 6-4 win over NM State's Martin Simecek and Corey Clarke to notch the Cougars' lone doubles win against the Aggies.
UP NEXT
Only two WAC teams will be in action this week as Chicago State hosts Eastern Illinois on Friday. The Cougars then take on Cardinal Stritch on Sunday. Meanwhile, NM State will be on its home courts against UT Permian Basin on Saturday.
BY THE NUMBERS
NM State holds the best winning percentage in overall play (.333). Individually, Chicago State freshman Pedro Alvarez claims the best singles record at 12-4. In doubles play, Grand Canyon's team of Valentin Lang and Jiri Novak have been the best duo, managing a record of 9-4 on the season.
In conference play, Grand Canyon sits atop the league with a 3-0 record. In singles action, NM State's Nicolas Buitrago is currently the only player with a 4-0 record to lead the conference. Meanwhile, three Grand Canyon duos share the top spot in doubles play. Valentin Lang and Jiri Novak, Mariano Argote and Justin Cvitanovic and Freddie Grant and Loic Van Zeggelaar each finished WAC play with a 3-0 record.
IT'S BIGGER IN TEXAS (AND UTAH)
On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the upcoming years. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah were all offered and accepted membership invitations. With the addition, the WAC will have six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and three schools in Utah, also a national best. The four Texas schools will join the league on July 1, 2021 and Southern Utah will follow 365 days later, officially joining the WAC on July 1, 2022.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP HEADED TO NEW MEXICO
The 2021 WAC Tennis Championships will be headed to the campus of NM State with both the men and women competitng for a title in Las Cruces, N.M. Play is set to begin on April 30 with the final day of matches scheduled for May 2.