This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - April 21
This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - April 21
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BUITRAGO, MENARD AND VISSER NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NM State's Nicolas Buitrago and doubles team Louis Menard and Jordy Visser have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Tennis Athletes of the Week for April 13 through April 19.
Buitrago, a senior from Bogota, Colombia, pushed his singles match winning streak to seven matches as he took down UT-Permian Basin's Aditya Iyer (6-3, 6-1). With the win, Buitrago currently owns the longest active winning streak in singles action among all WAC players.
Menard, a junior from Annecy, France, and Visser, a freshman from Bemmel, Netherlands, combined for a win in top-flight action against UT-Permian Basin on Saturday. The tandem defeated Paul Schwieger and Aditya Iyer by a score of 6-2 to help the Aggies clinch the doubles point against the Falcons.
Other men's singles nominees: Chicago State's Pedro Alvarez finished the week with a perfect 2-0 record as he earned wins in singles play against Eastern Illinois and Cardinal Stritch.
Other men's doubles nominees: Chicago State's Javier Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez extended their winning streak to four matches, defeating tandems from Eastern Illinois and Cardinal Stritch.
UP NEXT
Chicago State and Grand Canyon will be the only teams in action this week as they look to tune up before the WAC Tournament. The Cougars will face Illinois State on Saturday before hosting Saint Louis on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Lopes' final regular season match will come at home against Northern Arizona on Saturday.
BY THE NUMBERS
NM State holds the best winning percentage in overall play (.375). 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 finished as 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 May 1 with the final day of matches scheduled for May 2.
Grand Canyon was named WAC Regular Season Co-Champions and earned the No. 1 seed after ending WAC play with a perfect 3-0 record. The Lopes are set to do battle with the No. 4 seed in the semifinals on May 1.
NM State also claimed a share of the regular season title as it is headed straight to the semifinals with a No. 2 seed and a 3-1 record. The host Aggies will face the third seed to open the tournament.
Seattle U enters the tournament with a 2-2 record in conference play, earning the No. 3 seed.
Taking the fourth seed is Chicago State. This marks the third time in the last four tournaments that the Cougars pick up the No. 4 spot.
The tournament begins Saturday, May 1, with both the semifinal matches beginning at 1 p.m. local time.