PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Memphis junior Ryan Peniston and Tulane sophomore Elena Muller have been chosen as the American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Players of the Week for the week-ending Feb. 27.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Peniston • Jr. • Memphis
Peniston led Memphis to a pair of dual match wins on the road as he went 2-0 at the No. 1 singles spot and 2-0 at No. 2 doubles, extending the Tigers’ winning streak to five matches. He was a 6-0, 6-4 winner at No. 1 in a 4-3 win at Dartmouth and followed with a 7-5, 6-3 decision at the top of the ladder at Harvard. Peniston, who is ranked No. 122 on the most recent Oracle/ITA singles chart, improved to 13-6 on the season.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Elena Muller • So. • Tulane
Muller was 3-0 in singles play and scored a pair of doubles wins against nationally ranked tandems as Tulane faced three ranked opponents in its four dual matches last week. She was a straight-set winner at No. 5 singles and a 6-4 winner at No. 1 doubles, knocking off the No. 43-ranked tandem, to lead Tulane to a 4-3 win against No. 28 LSU. She followed with singles wins against No. 47 Texas and Utah and a doubles victory against the Longhorns’ No. 35-ranked tandem at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Six American Athletic Conference men’s teams are ranked in the Oracle/ITA Division I men’s tennis rankings of Feb. 28. Tulane is ranked No. 20, while SMU checks in at No. 26. Memphis is No. 35, while USF is No. 40, UCF is No. 48 and Tulsa is No. 50.
The Feb. 21 ITA men’s singles rankings have Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel at No. 25, Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz at No. 37, SMU’s Ronald Slobodchikov at No. 46, SMU’s Hunter Johnson at No. 51, Memphis’ Andrew Watson at No. 82, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos at No. 83, UCF’s Korey Lovett at No. 93, Tulane’s Sebastian Rey at No. 110 and Memphis’ Ryan Peniston at No. 122.
The men’s doubles tandems in the Feb. 21 ITA rankings are Majed Kilani/Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa at No. 34 and Yates Johnson/Hunter Johnson of SMU at No. 42, and Sebastian Rey/Chi-Shan Jao at No. 59.
Tulane’s women’s team is ranked No. 36 in the Feb. 28 Oracle/ITA Division I 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 (6-4) is ranked No. 48 in the Oracle/ITA Division I rankings of Feb. 28. After opening the season with six wins in their first seven matches, the Knights have dropped three straight after a 4-2 setback to No. 11 Baylor Monday. Junior Danny Kerznerman leads UCF with a 9-1 record in singles, playing at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. The Knights return from a three-match road swing to face Davidson Sunday.
UConn (3-6) split a pair of matches last week as the Huskies topped Southern New Hampshire 6-1 and fell 7-0 at Brown. UConn will head to the East Hartford Tennis Club to host Fairfield (Thursday) and Siena (Saturday) this week.
East Carolina (9-2) saw a three-match winning streak come to an end with a 5-1 setback against Campbell. Freddie McGeehan was a straight-set winner at No. 1 singles, but the Pirates dropped four three-set decisions through the rest of the ladder. The Pirates will head to Georgia Southern Monday.
Memphis (7-2), ranked No. 35 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, went on the road to score two wins against Ivy League opponents as the Tigers were 4-3 winners against Dartmouth and Harvard last week, extending their winning streak to five matches. Sophomore hris Patzanovsky closed the match against Dartmouth with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 3 singles, while freshman Jan Pallares delivered the clincher against Harvard with a win at No. 5 singles. Memphis returns home to face Jackson State Friday and No. 18 Cornell Sunday.
USF (3-4), which is ranked No. 40 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 25 Texas A&M, but bounced back with a 4-2 win against Pepperdine last week. Freshman Alberto Barroso-Campos and senior Vadym Kalyuzhnyy stand at 5-2 in singles play to lead the Bulls. USF will host Michigan State Saturday.
SMU (8-2), which is ranked No. 26 in the Feb. 28 Oracle/ITA ranking, extended its winning streak to five matches with wins against UT Arlington (4-1) and No. 48 UCF (4-2) last week. Markus Kerner clinched a tight match against UCF with a three-set win at No. 4 singles, improving to 6-4 on the year. SMU will host No. 41 TCU Thursday.
Temple (6-6) went 2-0 over the weekend as the Owls scored wins against Wagner (6-1) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (6-1) in Philadelphia. The Owls won five of six singles matches against Saint Francis, including four three-set decisions, to get back to the .500 mark for the season. Temple heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, this weekend to face Oral Roberts and No. 50 Tulsa in dual matches.
Tulane (8-2), which is ranked No. 20 in the Oracle/ITA rankings of Feb. 28, split a pair of matches against ranked opponents as the Green Wave fell 4-1 to No. 16 Mississippi State, but scored a 5-2 win against No. 38 North Carolina State. Junior Constantin Schmitz (No. 37) suffered his first singles loss of the season in the setback to Mississippi State, but bounced back with a straight-set win against North Carolina State to improve to 7-1 at the No. 1 spot. Tulane is off until a March 10 match against Penn.
Tulsa (4-7), which is ranked No. 50 in the Oracle/ITA ranking, completed a stretch of six nationally ranked opponents in seven matches with a 7-0 setback to No. 5 Oklahoma. The Golden Hurricane has a doubleheader against Oral Roberts and Temple set for Saturday.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (10-1) extended its winning streak to eight matches after the Knights scored a 4-1 win against Florida Atlantic and a 4-3 victory against Liberty last week. Monica Matias was a combined 4-0 in the two matches, scoring two straight-set wins at No. 2 singles as well as two victories at No. 1 doubles. The Knights will visit SMU Saturday and UT Arlington Sunday.
Cincinnati (6-4) split a pair of matches on its trip to Arizona as the Bearcats topped New Mexico 5-2 and fell to Arizona 6-1. Freshman Caroline Morton provided the only team point against the Wildcats with a victory at No. 4 singles and was a straight-set winner against the Lobos a day earlier. Cincinnati hosts Evansville Friday.
UConn (4-5) fell 5-2 to Cornell in the Huskies’ only dual match from last week. Junior Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva won her seventh straight singles match to improve to 8-2 on the year from the No. 2 position. The Huskies will visit Yale Sunday.
East Carolina (3-5) came up short in a pair of matches last week as the Pirates fell by 5-2 scores to Coastal Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth. The Pirates are off until a March 9 match at South Carolina State.
Houston (4-6) looks to snap a four-match slide with a trip to Kansas State Friday and a doubleheader against No. 39 Nebraska and Illinois State Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Tigers fell 5-0 to No. 34 Washington and 4-0 to Oregon last weekend.
Memphis (3-4), dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 19 Mississippi in the Tigers’ only action of last week. After playing six straight matches away from home, the Tigers begin a four-match home stretch Friday against Jackson State.
USF (4-5) was idle last week. Junior Juliana Cardoso and sophomore Ana Roman Dominguez lead the Bulls with six singles wins each as Roman Dominguez has gone 6-3 at No. 1 and Cardoso is 6-3 playing throughout the ladder. USF is back in action Saturday with a matchup against North Florida in Tampa.
SMU (8-2) scored two wins last Sunday, after an earlier setback to No. 22 Texas A&M, as the Mustangs took a 4-3 decision against Nevada and a 7-0 victory against UT Permian Basin. Ana Perez-Lopez clinched the match against the Wolfpack with a second-set tiebreaker win at No. 3 singles and followed with a 6-0, 6-0 decision against the Falcons. The Mustangs host No. UCF Saturday and Arizona Sunday.
Temple (7-5) dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to James Madison, but the Owls responded with a solid 6-1 win against Saint Francis (Pa.) last week. The Owls will host Drexel Wednesday before taking to the road for a Sunday match at Tulsa.
Tulane (12-4) is ranked No. 36 in the Feb. 28 Oracle/ITA ranking of Feb. 28. Tulane dropped its first two matches at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, falling to No. 8 Auburn (4-0) and No. 47 Texas (4-2), but the Green Wave rallied for a 4-2 win against Utah in its final match of the event. The Green Wave began the week with a 4-3 win against No. 28 LSU. Elena Muller has turned in a 10-2 record, primarily at No. 5 singles, while freshman Christina Sisti is 10-3, primarily at No. 6. Tulane visits Southern Mississippi Tuesday and heads to UAB Sunday.
Tulsa (10-4) won one of three matches in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Golden Hurricane dropped its opening match 4-0 to Alabama, bounced back for a 4-0 win against Utah, and fell to No. 47 Texas 5-0 in its third contest. Tulsa has three home matches on this week’s docket - a Friday match against Purdue, a Sunday matinee with Temple and a Monday evening match against No. 13 Baylor.
This Week In The American
MEN
| Wednesday, March 1 |
Drexel at Temple |
9:45 a.m. |
| |
|
|
| Thursday, March 2 |
Fairfield at UConn |
Noon |
| |
TCU at SMU |
5:30 p.m. |
| |
|
|
| Friday, March 3 |
Jackson State at Memphis |
11 a.m. |
| |
|
|
| Saturday, March 4 |
Michigan State at USF |
2 p.m. |
| |
Temple at Oral Roberts |
2 p.m. |
| |
Siena at UConn |
6:30 p.m. |
| |
|
|
| Sunday, March 5 |
Cornell at Memphis |
Noon |
| |
Temple at Tulsa |
1 p.m. |
| |
Davidson at UCF |
1 p.m. |
| |
Oral Roberts at Tulsa |
TBD |
| |
|
|
| Monday, March 6 |
East Carolina at Georgia Southern |
2 p.m. |
| |
USF at Baylor (Bradenton, Fla.) |
6 p.m. |
WOMEN
| Tuesday, Feb. 28 |
Tulane at Southern Mississippi |
Noon |
| |
|
|
| Wednesday, March 1 |
Drexel at Temple |
9:45 a.m. |
| |
|
|
| Friday, March 3 |
Evansville at Cincinnati |
|
| |
Houston at Kansas State |
2 p.m. |
| |
Jackson State at Memphis |
2 p.m. |
| |
Purdue at Tulsa |
6 p.m. |
| |
|
|
| Saturday, March 4 |
Houston at Nebraska |
Noon |
| |
UCF at SMU |
2 p.m. |
| |
North Florida at USF |
2 p.m. |
| |
Houston vs. Illinois State (Lincoln, Neb.) |
5 p.m. |
| |
|
|
| Sunday, March 5 |
UCF at UT Arlington |
Noon |
| |
Temple at Tulsa |
1 p.m. |
| |
Tulane at UAB |
1 p.m. |
| |
Arizona at SMU |
2 p.m. |
| |
UConn at Yale |
4 p.m. |
| |
|
|
| Monday, March 6 |
Baylor at Tulsa |
6 p.m. |
all times Eastern