GRAND CANYON DROPS FIRST ROUND MATCHUP WITH USC
The Grand Canyon men's tennis team saw its season come to a conclusion following a 0-4 loss to No. 12 Southern California in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Lopes fell behind early as the Trojans secured wins in doubles play at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots to capture the doubles point. Both Grand Canyon teams proved tough as Valentin Lang and Jiri Novak battled to a 4-6 loss on court No. 1 while Mariano Argote and Justin Cvitanovic fell 3-6.
Argote also looked good in singles play as he pushed his opponent at No. 2 to a tie breaker in the first set. Elsewhere, the Trojans were able to manage victories at No. 1, 4 and 6 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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.
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.