PROVIDENCE, R.I. – USF sophomore Alberto Barroso-Campos and East Carolina sophomore Celia Ruiz have been chosen as the American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Week for the week-ending March 13.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alberto Barroso-Campos • So. • USF
Barroso-Campos was a combined 9-1 in singles and doubles play, helping USF to five straight dual match wins last week after a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 17 Baylor. Barroso-Campos was a straight-set winner at No. 3 singles against the nation’s No. 50-ranked player against Baylor, and he followed that performance with straight-set wins against North Florida, UNC Wilmington, Virginia Commonwealth and Penn State. He was 4-1 at No. 1 doubles as well, with the lone loss coming to the No. 74-ranked tandem from North Florida.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Celia Ruiz • So. • East Carolina
Ruiz was a combined 4-1 in singles and doubles last week as the Pirates defeated South Carolina State and Charleston before dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 3 North Carolina. Ruiz delivered a team point against the Tar Heels with a 6-2, 7-5 win against the No. 24-ranked player nationally at No. 1 singles, and she was a 6-1, 7-5 winner at No. 1 against South Carolina State. She added victories at No. 1 doubles against South Carolina State and Charleston.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Six American Athletic Conference men’s teams are ranked in the Oracle/ITA Division I men’s tennis rankings of March 14. Memphis is ranked No. 27, Tulane is No. 30, USF is No. 32, SMU is No. 33, Tulsa is No. 45 and UCF is No. 48.
The March 7 ITA men’s singles rankings have Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel at No. 27, Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz at No. 38, UCF’s Korey Lovett at No. 44, SMU’s Ronald Slobodchikov at No. 50, SMU’s Hunter Johnson at No. 56, Memphis’ Andrew Watson at No. 78, USF’s Peter Bertran at No. 98, Tulane’s Sebastian Rey at No. 118, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos at No. 122, and Tulane’s Ewan Moore at No. 125.
The men’s doubles tandems in the March 7 ITA rankings are Yates Johnson/Hunter Johnson of SMU at No. 18, Majed Kilani/Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa at No. 43, Sebastian Rey/Chi-Shan Jao of Tulane at No. 73, Harrison Richmond/Mariano Porter of UCF at No. 78, and Peter Bertran/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy of USF at No. 80.
The American has two women’s teams in the March 14 edition of the Oracle/ITA rankings. Tulsa is No. 28 and Tulane is No. 40.
Tulane’s doubles tandem of Naz Karagoz/Elena Muller is ranked No. 76 in the Oracle/ITA rankings of March 7.
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 (9-5), which is ranked No. 48 in the March 14 Oracle/ITA rankings, split a pair of matches against nationally ranked opponents last week as the Knights lost 4-3 to No. 48 Tulsa, but bounced back to beat No. 29 South Alabama 6-1. Danny Kerznerman has gone 13-1 in singles play this season, playing primarily at the No. 6 spot. UCF’s lone dual match this week will be a trip to Florida Gulf Coast Sunday.
UConn (5-6) was idle last week and returns to action this week with three matches in the state of Florida. The Huskies visit Florida Atlantic Tuesday, play George Washington Wednesday in Boca Raton, and play at Florida Tech Friday.
East Carolina (11-3) snapped a two-match slide with a pair of wins against NCAA Division II opponents as the Pirates topped Palm Beach Atlantic (9-0) and Davis & Elkins (9-0). East Carolina hosts Mount Olive Tuesday before heading to UNC Greensboro for a Thursday-afternoon match.
Memphis (11-3), ranked No. 27 in the March 14 Oracle/ITA rankings, dropped a heartbreaker to No. 4 Oklahoma State, as the Tigers took the first two team points, but fell 4-3 to the Cowboys. Memphis came back to beat San Diego State 4-0 to pick up its 11th win of the spring. The Tigers will host Temple Wednesday.
USF (9-5), which is ranked No. 32 nationally, had a productive week with five dual match wins as the Bulls beat North Florida (4-1), UNC Wilmington (4-0), Virginia Commonwealth (4-0), Penn State (4-0) and No. 48 Tulsa (5-0). Alberto Barroso-Campos has led the way thanks to an 11-2 dual match record, including wins in his last seven matches. USF competes this week at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells, California.
SMU (9-3), ranked No. 33 nationally, cruised to a 7-0 win against Navy in the Mustangs’ only dual match from last week. SMU will face No. 24 Columbia Tuesday before joining USF and Tulsa at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells, California.
Temple (9-7) was a 5-2 winner against Navy in the Owls’ only match from last week. The Owls head to Memphis, Tennessee, for a pair of matches – a Tuesday date against Arkansas Pine Bluff and a Wednesday battle with Memphis.
Tulane (10-2), which is ranked No. 30 in the Oracle/ITA rankings of March 14, has won seven of its last eight dual matches after the Green Wave beat Penn and Middle Tennessee by 7-0 scores. The Green Wave heads to the West Coast for the San Diego Spring Break Tournament.
Tulsa (10-8), ranked No. 45 nationally, went 4-1 last week as the Golden Hurricane scored three 4-0 wins against beat Arkansas Pine Bluff, edged UCF 4-3 and fell to No. 40 USF 5-0. Or Ram-Harel has won his last four singles matches and sits atop the Tulsa leaderboard with a 7-5 dual match record at the No. 1 spot. Tulsa competes this week at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells, California.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (10-5) has dropped its last four matches after the Knights fell 5-2 to No. 42 Tulane Monday. UCF fell 4-3 in back-to-back matches against Furman and South Alabama last week. The Knights face Rhode Island Tuesday in New Orleans before returning to Orlando to take on No. 44 Tulsa.
Cincinnati (8-4) did not play last week. The Bearcats, who have five wins in their last seven dual matches, are in Dallas this week for a Tuesday matchup against SMU and a Thursday tilt against Georgia State.
UConn (4-8) fell 5-2 to Houston in East Hartford and dropped a 4-0 decision Florida Atlantic in the first of three matches in Boca Raton, Florida. The Huskies continue their trip in the Sunshine State Tuesday against Northern Illinois before a Thursday matchup against George Washington.
East Carolina (5-6) scored back-to-back wins against South Carolina State (6-1) and Charleston (4-3) before the Pirates fell 5-2 to No. 3 North Carolina. Celia Ruiz scored an impressive win at No. 1 singles against the Tar Heels with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against the nation’s No. 24-ranked player. East Carolina is idle this week as the Pirates return to the court March 24 against Liberty.
Houston (8-7) returned home from a long road swing to beat Bowling Green 6-1 before the Cougars returned to the road to gain a 5-2 win at UConn last week. The Cougars, who have won three straight and four of their last five matches, face a second straight opponent from The American when they host Memphis Saturday.
Memphis (5-4) was a 6-1 winner against Southern Illinois in the Tigers’ only match from last week. This week’s schedule has the Tigers at home for a Wednesday doubleheader against Lamar and Missouri State before Memphis visits Houston and No. 38 Rice over the weekend.
USF (6-6) earned a split of two matches last week as the Bulls scored a 4-3 win against Penn State, but lost 5-2 to Penn. USF has three matches scheduled for this week, all in Tampa. The Bulls host Liberty Tuesday, No. 28 Tulsa Thursday and UAB Saturday.
SMU (11-3) split a pair of matches last week as the Mustangs lost 5-2 to Wichita State 5-2 before rebounding for a 4-3 win against Georgia State. Ana Perez-Lopez clinched the match against Georgia State with a three-set win at No. 4 singles. SMU hosts Cincinnati Tuesday and Kansas State Saturday.
Temple (8-6) did not play last week. The Owls resume their spring schedule Thursday against Delaware before they host La Salle Friday.
Tulane (16-4) is ranked No. 40 in the March 14 Oracle/ITA ranking. The Green Wave has won its last five dual matches, with victories last week against UTSA (4-3) and UCF (5-2). Tulane has a pair of matches Saturday as the Green Wave hosts Louisiana Monroe and Rhode Island.
Tulsa (13-4), which is ranked No. 28 in the March 14 national rankings, takes a three-match winning streak into this week. The Golden Hurricane heads to Florida for three matches this week as Tulsa faces Liberty, USF and UCF.
This Week In The American
| MEN |
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| Monday, March 13 |
Navy at SMU |
Noon |
|
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| Tuesday, March 14 |
UConn at Florida Atlantic |
1 p.m. |
|
Columbia at SMU |
1 p.m. |
|
Temple vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff (Memphis, Tenn.) |
2 p.m. |
|
Mount Olive at East Carolina |
3 p.m. |
|
|
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| Wednesday, March 15 |
UConn vs. George Washington (Boca Raton, Fla.) |
10 a.m. |
|
Temple at Memphis |
Noon |
|
|
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| Thursday, March 16 |
East Carolina at UNC Greensboro |
2 p.m. |
|
Tulane at San Diego Invitational |
TBD |
|
|
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| Friday, March 17 |
UConn at Florida Tech |
2 p.m. |
|
Tulane at San Diego Invitational |
TBD |
|
USF at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
SMU at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
Tulsa at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
|
|
| Saturday, March 18 |
Tulane at San Diego Invitational |
TBD |
|
USF at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
SMU at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
Tulsa at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
|
|
| Sunday, March 19 |
UCF at Florida Gulf Coast |
1 p.m. |
|
USF at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
SMU at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
Tulsa at BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge |
TBD |
|
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| WOMEN |
|
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| Tuesday, March 14 |
Liberty at USF |
Noon |
|
UCF vs. Rhode Island (New Orleans, La.) |
1 p.m. |
|
UConn vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton, Fla.) |
2 p.m. |
|
Cincinnati at SMU |
5 p.m. |
|
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| Wednesday, March 15 |
Lamar at Memphis |
10 a.m. |
|
Tulsa vs Liberty (Tampa, Fla.) |
Noon |
|
Missouri State at Memphis |
4 p.m. |
|
|
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| Thursday, March 16 |
Cincinnati vs. Georgia State (Dallas, Texas) |
Noon |
|
Tulsa at USF |
Noon |
|
Delaware vs. Temple |
12:30 p.m. |
|
UConn vs George Washington (Boca Raton, Fla.) |
2 p.m. |
|
|
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| Friday, March 17 |
La Salle at Temple |
5:30 p.m. |
|
|
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| Saturday, March 18 |
Louisiana Monroe at Tulane |
11 a.m. |
|
UAB at USF |
Noon |
|
Memphis at Houston |
1 p.m. |
|
Kansas State at SMU |
2 p.m. |
|
Rhode Island at Tulane |
4 p.m. |
|
Tulsa at UCF |
5 p.m. |
|
|
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| Sunday, March 19 |
Memphis at Rice |
Noon |
all times Eastern