This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - May 4
This Week in WAC Men's Tennis - May 4
GRAND CANYON CROWNED WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The WAC Tournament Championship was claimed by Grand Canyon this past weekend. The Lopes earned the title by way of a 4-0 sweep of Chicago State in the quarterfinals and a narrow 4-3 victory in the championship match against host NM State. This marks the second straight WAC Championship for GCU after winning the title in 2019.
GRAND CANYON TO FACE USC IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
It was today announced that Grand Canyon will head to Los Angeles to take on No. 12 Southern California in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament.
The Lopes (8-12) will be making their second trip to the NCAA Tournament, earning the WAC's automatic qualification by defeating NM State in the WAC Tournament Championship. GCU collected its ticket to the tournament with a 4-3 victory over the Aggies in the title match.
Grand Canyon will seek a victory against Southern California (20-6) which won its fifth Pac-12 Championship. The Trojans will be playing in their 42nd NCAA Tournament in program history.
First- and second-round competition takes place May 7-8 or 8-9 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 17-28.
BY THE NUMBERS
During regular season play, NM State held the best winning percentage in overall play (.375). Individually, Chicago State freshman Pedro Alvarez claimed the best singles record at 17-4. In doubles play, Grand Canyon's team of Valentin Lang and Jiri Novak finished as the best duo, managing a record of 9-6 on the season.
In conference play, Grand Canyon finished atop the league with a 3-0 record. In singles action, NM State's Nicolas Buitrago came away 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.