PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Tulsa sophomore Majed Kilani and junior Ksenia Laskutova have been chosen as the American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Players of the Week for the first week of 2017 dual match season.
       
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Majed Kilani • So. • Tulsa
Kilani, the 2016 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, helped Tulsa to a 4-2 start to the dual match season by going 3-1 in singles play and 4-1 in doubles to start the 2017 campaign. He keyed the Golden Hurricane’s 4-3 win against No. 4 Texas with wins in both singles and doubles, including a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 decision at No. 2 singles against an opponent who was ranked No. 36 nationally. Kilani added a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to help the Golden Hurricane claim the doubles point against No. 19 Arkansas.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Ksenia Laskutova • Jr. • Tulsa
Laskutova, who was an American Athletic Conference all-conference pick last season, began her 2017 season with a 6-0 showing in singles play as she won the top flight of the Hurricane Invite last weekend. Laskutova won three straight-set victories at the top flight in singles and was 2-1 in doubles play last week to give her a 3-1 mark on the year.
 
 
 
AROUND THE AMERICAN
USF was the highest-ranked of the American Athletic Conference men’s teams in the Jan. 17 Oracle/ITA Division I rankings as the Bulls checked in at No. 24 in the poll. SMU and Tulane were receiving votes.
 
The Jan. 8 ITA men’s singles rankings have Memphis’ Ryan Peniston at No. 35, Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel at No. 46, Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz at No. 54, USF’s Peter Bertran at No. 77, Memphis’ Andrew Watson at No. 111, and UConn’s Justin Warren and Arnaud Valentin at No. 115.
 
The men’s doubles tandems in the Jan. 8 ITA rankings are Harrison Richmond/Mariano Porter of UCF at No. 27; Francois Kellerman/Okkie Kellerman of Tulsa at No. 36; and Peter Betran/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy of USF at No. 39;
 
Memphis’ Anki Wind is ranked No. 91 and East Carolina’s Sarah Sarjoo is ranked No. 111 in the Jan. 8 ITA women’s singles rankings.
 
The American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held in April at the new USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The state-of-the-art complex features 10 courts and is the home site for USTA player development and the USTA’s community tennis division.
 

MEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF is off to a 3-1 start under new head coach John Roddick, who led Oklahoma to three consecutive NCAA runner-up finishes at Oklahoma’s head coach in from 2014-16. The Knights opened with wins against Texas Tech, New Mexico and Arizona, before the winning streak came to an end after Auburn rallied for a 4-3 victory. The Knights are off until a Feb. 9 dual match at Florida State.
 
UConn carries a 1-1 record from the fall into the Huskies’ spring season, which begins with a Jan. 28 dual match at East Carolina. Senior Arnaud Valentin and sophomore Justin Warren were tied for the No. 115 spot in the Oracle/ITA singles rating of Jan. 6.
 
East Carolina has won its first two dual matches of the 2016-17 season as the Pirates scored wins against North Carolina Central (7-0) and Presbyterian (4-3) last week. Senior Frederic Lehfeldt clinched the win against Presbyterian with a three-set win at No. 4 singles. The Pirates welcome UConn to Greenville Saturday.
 
Memphis is 2-0 to start the season after the Tigers opened the spring with a 7-0 win against Michigan State and a 6-1 decision against LSU. Memphis heads to Illinois for a pair of dual matches as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend as the Tigers visit No. 13 Northwestern Friday and will meet either No. 18 Stanford or Georgia Tech Saturday. The Tigers’ Ryan Penniston is ranked No. 35 in the ITA singles list, leading all American Athletic Conference players.
 
USF, which won the 2016 American Athletic Conference title, competed in the season-opening Florida Gulf Coast Invitaitonal, competing in individual matches against Florida Gulf Coast, Wisconsin and Louisville. The Bulls, ranked No. 24 nationally, begin formal dual match play in Gainesville, Florida, at the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a Saturday matchup against LSU and a Sunday showdown against either No. 11 Florida or UNC Wilmington.
 
SMU has won two of its first three spring matches as the Mustangs bounced back from a 4-1 setback to No. 4 Texas with a 4-3 victory against No. 19 Arkansas on the road, giving head coach Carl Neufeld his 400th career victory with the Mustangs. The highlight came at No. 1 singles as SMU’s Ronald Slobodchikov knocked off Arkansas’ Mike Redlicki (ranked No. 3 nationally) in three sets to clinch the match. The Mustangs continue their challenging early schedule at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in College Station, Texas, with a Saturday match against Misissippi and a Sunday contest against either No. 16 Texas A&M or No. 22 Baylor.
 
Temple is 1-3 to start the spring as the Owls began the season with a win against Monmouth, but were unable to get victories against Morgan State, Charlotte and Virginia Commonwealth. The Owls make a short road trip for their next dual match as Temple visits Penn Saturday.
 
Tulane begins its quest for back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances as the Green Wave begins its spring season Tuesday against Alcorn State. The Green Wave returns five players from last year’s team, but will look to replace Dominik Koepfer, who was the nation’s top-ranked player for three months in 2016.
 
Tulsa has been busy to start the spring season as the Golden Hurricane takes a 4-2 record into this week. The ledger of wins includes a 4-3 victory against No. 4 Texas, while the two setbacks have been to No. 19 Arkansas (4-3) and No. 7 TCU (4-0). Tulsa picked up the win against the Longhorns after Mitchell Pritchard won a three-set battle at No. 5 singles, taking a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 decision. Tulsa’s tough schedule continues this week with a match against No. 15 Kentucky Friday before a Saturday showdown against either No. 14 Oklahoma State or No. 23 Columbia at the ITA Kickoff Classic in Stillwater, Okla.
 
 

WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
 
UCF is 2-1 through three spring matches as the Knights opened with wins against Flagler (5-2) and Florida Tech (5-2) before falling 5-2 to Iowa. Junior Emilia Granstrom is off to a 3-0 start in singles play at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots and has paired with Natalia Serrano to go 3-0 at No. 2 doubles on the young season. The Knights head to Stetson Saturday to continue their dual match season.
 
Cincinnati rolled to a 7-0 victory against IUPUI in its spring opener last Friday. The Bearcats won all six singles matches in straight sets, including 6-0, 6-0 victories at the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots. The Bearcats are led by junior Ali Miller, who earned all-conference first team honors last season. Cincinnati has a pair of road matches lined up for the weekend with a Saturday matchup against Miami (Ohio) and a Sunday match at Indiana.
 
UConn will host Rhode Island Sunday in East Hartford, Connecticut, as the Huskies begin their spring season. The Huskies went 10-10 in dual matches last season and were 1-1 in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
 
East Carolina will begin its spring season Feb. 3 at North Carolina State. The Pirates went 17-9 last season and reached the third round of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
 
Houston split a pair of dual matches to start the 2017 spring season as the Cougars fell 4-2 to UT Arlington and bounced back with a 4-0 win against Prairie View A&M last Saturday. Houston is back in action Saturday against Abilene Christian. The Cougars will officially dedicate the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility in a prematch ceremony.
 
Memphis is 1-0 to start the spring as the Tigers scored a 4-3 win against UAB last Friday. The Tigers will be led by junior Anki Wind, a 2014 all-conference selection who returned to the lineup after missing most of the dual match season in 2016. Wind led Memphis with 11 singles wins in the fall.
 
USF’s spring season begins Tuesday as the Bulls visit Florida Gulf Coast for a dual match. The Bulls, who advanced to the American Athletic Conference Championship final last season, look to build off of an 18-7 showing in 2016 as Cristina Moros begins her second year as head coach.
 
SMU will begin the dual match portion of its spring season with a pair of matches Sunday as the Mustangs host Abilene Christian and Prairie View A&M. SMU competed in individual action at the Metroplex Mania event in Dallas Jan. 13-16.
 
Temple dropped its spring opener as the Owls fell 6-1 at Old Dominion. The lone win came from junior Yana Khon at No. 5 singles. Temple is back in action Friday against Iowa State on the campus of Penn before the Owls head to the Virginia Commonwealth Invitational Saturday.
 
Tulane has won all four of its dual matches to begin the spring as the Green Wave has wins against McNeese State (4-1), New Orleans (4-0), Belmont (6-1) and Eastern Kentucky (6-1). Naz Karagoz has gone 4-0 at No. 1 singles, while Elena Muller is 4-0 while paying at No. 4 and No. 5 singles. Tulane will host Northwestern State and Southern Saturday.
 
Tulsa, last year’s American Athletic Conference champion, is 4-0 in dual matches this season, while the Golden Hurricane saw four players win their respective flights at last week’s Hurricane Invite. Tulsa has amassed a 36-4 record through five spring events as Ksenia Laskutova stands at 6-0 on the year and Marcelina Cichon is 7-0. The Golden Hurricane heads to Durham, North Carolina, this weekend to play in the ITA Kickoff Classic. Tulsa will face Northwestern Saturday and will take on either No. 10 Duke or William & Mary Sunday.


This Week In The American

MEN
Tue., Jan. 24	Alcorn State at Tulane	1 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 25	East Carolina at George Mason	10:30 a.m.
Fri., Jan. 27	Memphis at Northwestern	3 p.m.
	Tulsa vs. Kentucky (Stillwater, Okla.)	TBD
Sat., Jan. 28	UConn at East Carolina	10 a.m.
	USF vs. LSU (Gainesville, Fla.)	11 a.m.
	SMU vs. Mississippi (College Station, Texas)	Noon
	Temple at Penn	1:30 p.m.
	Tulane vs. Pepperdine (Berkeley, Calif.)	2 p.m.
	Memphis vs. Stanford/Georgia Tech (Chicago, Ill.)	TBD
	Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State/Columbia (Stillwater, Okla.)	TBD
Sun., Jan. 29	USF vs. Florida/UNC Wilmington (Gainesville, Fla.)	TBD
	SMU vs. Texas A&M/Baylor (College Station, Texas)	TBD
	Tulane vs. California/Cal Poly (Berkeley, Calif.)	TBD
WOMEN
Tue., Jan. 24	USF at Florida Gulf Coast	2 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 27	Iowa State at Temple	5:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 28	Tulsa vs. Northwestern (Durham, N.C.)	10 a.m.
	Northwestern State at Tulane	Noon
	UCF at Stetson	2 p.m.
	Cincinnati at Miami (Ohio)	2 p.m.
	Abilene Christian at Houston	3 p.m.
	Southern at Tulane	4 p.m.
	Memphis at. Lipscomb	8 p.m.
	Temple at Virginia Commonwealth Invitational	TBD
Sun., Jan. 29	Rhode Island at UConn (East Hartford, Conn.)	10:30 a.m.
	Memphis vs. Chattanooga (Murfeesboro, Tenn.)	11 a.m.
	Cincinnati at Indiana	2:30 p.m.
	Abilene Christian at SMU	4 p.m.
	Prairie View A&M at SMU	7:30 p.m.
	Tulsa vs. Duke/William & Mary (Durham, N.C.)	TBD

 
all times Eastern