PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Tulane junior Constantin Schmitz and SMU senior Dasha Sharapova have been chosen as the American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Week for the week-ending March 20.
        
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Constantin Schmitz • Jr. • Tulane
Schmitz went 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles as Tulane reached the championship match of San Diego Spring Break Tournament last week. He defeated two nationally ranked singles players at the No. 1 spot, taking straight-set victories against opponents from San Diego and Oregon and won at No. 1 doubles in both of those matches as well. He took a 6-2, 6-1 win against San Diego’s No. 55-ranked player and was a 6-4, 6-2 winner against Oregon’s top player, who was ranked No. 40 nationally.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dasha Sharapova • Sr. • SMU
Sharapova was a combined 6-0 in singles and doubles to help SMU to dual match wins against Georgia State, Cincinnati and Kansas State last week. She had a hand in two key team points in a 4-3 win against the Panthers as she helped the Mustangs take the doubles points with a 6-2 win at No. 3 and was a straight-set winner at No. 3 singles. She went on to take a straight-set win in singles against Cincinnati and a three-set victory against Kansas State while taking doubles wins against both opponents.
 
 
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Five American Athletic Conference men’s teams are ranked in the Oracle/ITA Division I men’s tennis rankings of March 21. USF is ranked No. 27, while Memphis is one spot back at No. 28. Tulane is SMU is No. 32 and UCF is No. 47.
 
The March 21 ITA men’s singles rankings have Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz as the conference’s highest-ranked player at No. 18. Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel is at No. 25, while SMU’s Ronald Slobodchikov is No. 55, USF’s Sasha Gozun is No. 62, UCF’s Korey Lovett is No. 63, Memphis’ Andrew Watson is No. 75 and SMU’s Hunter Johnson is No. 83.
 
The men’s doubles tandems in the March 21 ITA rankings are Yates Johnson/Hunter Johnson of SMU at No. 35,  Alberto Barroso-Campos/Sasha Gozun of USF at No. 50, Majed Kilani/Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa at No. 54 and Sebastian Rey/Chi-Shan Jao of Tulane at No. 73.
 
The American has two women’s teams in the March 21 edition of the Oracle/ITA rankings. Tulsa is No. 32 and Tulane is No. 43.
 
East Carolina’s Celia Ruiz has earned a spot in the March 21 Oracle/ITA singles rankings. Ruiz enters the national ranking at No. 124 among all Division I players.
 
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 (10-5), which is ranked No. 47 in the March 21 Oracle/ITA rankings, was a 6-1 winner against Florida Gulf Coast in the Knights’ only match of last week. UCF took all six singles matches against the Eagles, including five straight-set decisions. UCF visits No. 29 Florida State Sunday.
 
UConn (6-8) went 1-2 on the Huskies’ three-match trip to the state of Florida last week. UConn fell 7-0 to Florida  Atlantic and George Washington and was a 5-2 winner against Florida Tech. The Huskies’ only match this week is a Sunday date against Hofstra in Storrs, Connecticut.
 
East Carolina (13-3) has won its last four matches after the Pirates picked up two wins last week. East Carolina was a 7-0 winner against Mount Olive and a 4-3 winner against UNC Greensboro. East Carolina hosts Liberty Wednesday and Coastal Carolina Saturday.
 
Memphis (12-3), ranked No. 28 in the March 21 Oracle/ITA rankings, defeated Temple 4-0 in the Tigers’ lone dual match of last week. Memphis has won 10 of its last 11 matches, with the lone loss in that stretch a 4-3 setback to then-No. 4 Oklahoma State. The Tigers play two matches in Texas this week with a Friday trip to Texas Tech and a Sunday visit to No. 4 Baylor.
 
USF (11-6) which is ranked No. 27 nationally, went 2-1 at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells, California, last week. The Bulls fell 4-0 to No. 7 USC, answered with a 4-0 win against No. 45 Tulsa in a rematch of last year’s American Athletic Conference Championship final, and topped No. 33 SMU 4-2 in their final match of the weekend. USF is off until a March 30 match against No. 30 Tulane in Tampa.
 
SMU (10-6), which is ranked No. 32 nationally, won one of its four matches last week as the Mustangs were 4-2 winners against Purdue in the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge. SMU opened the week with a 4-1 setback to No. 24 Columbia and sandwiched the win against Purdue with a 4-1 setback to No. 6 Baylor and a 4-2 loss to No. 28 USF. The Mustangs continue their challenging schedule this week with a home match Sunday against No. 7 Oklahoma State.
 
Temple (10-8) split a pair of matches in Memphis, Tennessee, as the Owls picked up a 7-0 win against Arkansas Pine Bluff before dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 27 Memphis. The Owls have two matches slated for Friday as Temple hosts Saint Francis (N.Y.) and La Salle in a doubleheader.
 
Tulane (12-3), which is ranked No. 30 in the Oracle/ITA rankings of March 21, won its first two matches at the San Diego Spring Break Tournament as the Green Wave took down Arizona and San Diego by 4-0 counts. Tulane saw its five-match winning streak snapped with a 4-2 setback to No. 25 Oregon. Tulane hosts Dartmouth Thursday in its only dual match of the week.
 
Tulsa (10-11) went without a win in three matches against top competition et the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge in Indian Wells, California. The Golden Hurricane fell 4-3 to No. 9 Oklahoma, 4-0 to No. 32 USF and 4-1 to Purdue. The highlight for Tulsa was a straight-set win at No. 1 singles against Oklahoma by senior Or Ram-Harel, who defeated the No. 21-ranked player nationally. Tulsa visits No. 9 North Carolina Saturday in its only dual match this week.
 
 
 

WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
 
UCF (11-6) rolled to a 7-0 win against Rhode Island before the Knights dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 44 Tulsa last week. Senior Cortney Cesarini leads UCF with a 14-3 record in singles play and has joined junior Monica Matias to go 13-2 at No. 1 doubles. UCF’s only match this week is a Tuesday-morning date against Milwaukee.
 
Cincinnati (7-6) dropped a pair of matches last week as the Bearcats fell 6-1 to SMU and 5-2 to Georgia State. Cincinnati looks to get back on track with home matches against Butler (Friday) and Dayton (Saturday).
 
UConn (6-8) snapped a six-match slide with two victories last week in Boca Raton, Florida. The Huskies took a 6-1 victory against Northern Illinois and a 4-3 decision against George Washington. UConn is idle this week as the Huskies face Fairfeld March 28.
 
East Carolina (5-6) did not play last week as the Pirates prepare for matches on three straight days this week. East Carolina visits Liberty Friday, Richmond Saturday and No. 23 Wake Forest Sunday.
 
Houston (8-8) dropped a 4-2 decision to Memphis in the Cougars’ only match from last week. The Cougars head to the state of Utah for a pair of matches this week. Houston faces Utah Thursday and BYU Saturday.
 
Memphis (8-5) won three of four dual matches last week as the Tigers topped Lamar (4-1), Missouri State (7-0) and Houston (4-2) before falling 7-0 to No. 38 Rice. The Tigers had won five straight prior to the setback against the Owls. The Tigers have two matches in Murfeesboro, Tennessee, this week with a Friday date with Middle Tennessee and a Saturday matchup against Virginia Commonwealth.
 
USF (8-7) earned a split of two matches last week as the Bulls fell 4-2 to No. 28 Tulsa, but bounced back for a 4-0 win against UAB. The Bulls have been led by sophomore Ana Roman Dominguez, who has gone 10-4 at No. 1 singles. USF hosts No. 30 Florida International Friday and Temple Sunday.
 
SMU (13-3) has won three straight after the Mustangs scored a 6-1 win against Cincinnati and a 5-2 decision against Kansas State last week. The Mustangs’ lone match of this week is a Sunday-afternoon matchup against Louisiana Tech.
 
Temple (9-7) returned from an 11-day layoff to fall 4-3 to Delaware before the Owls answered with a 7-0 win against La Salle the following day. Temple heads to Florida for a pair of matches this week as the Owls visit No. 30 Florida International Friday in Miami before they face USF Sunday in Tampa.
 
Tulane (17-5) is ranked No. 43 in the March 21 Oracle/ITA ranking. The Green Wave saw a streak of five straight dual match wins snapped with a 4-3 setback to Louisiana Monroe, but Tulane bounced back with a 4-0 victory against Rhode Island. The Green Wave visits Louisiana Tuesday in its only match of this week.
 
Tulsa (16-4), which is ranked No. 32 in the March 21 national rankings, has won its last six matches after the Golden Hurricane went 3-0 last week. Tulsa began the week with a 6-1 victory against Liberty before taking a pair of wins against American Athletic Conference opponents - 4-2 against USF and 5-2 against UCF. Tulsa hosts No. 18 Arkansas Wednesday.
 

This Week In The American

MEN
Wednesday, March 22	Liberty at East Carolina	2:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 23	Dartmouth at Tulane	4 p.m.
Friday, March 24	Saint Francis (N.Y.) at Temple	11 a.m.
	La Salle at Temple	3 p.m.
	Memphis at Texas Tech	6 p.m.
Saturday, March 25	Coastal Carolina at East Carolina	1:30 p.m.
	Tulsa at North Carolina	2 p.m.
Sunday, March 26	UCF at Florida State	1 p.m.
	Hofstra at UConn	1 p.m.
	Memphis at Baylor	2 p.m.
	Oklahoma State at SMU	5:30 p.m.
WOMEN
Tuesday, March 21	Milwaukee at USF	10 a.m.
	Tulane at Louisiana	4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 22	Arkansas at Tulsa	4 p.m.
Thursday, March 23	Houston at Utah	3:30 p.m.
Friday, March 24	Florida International at USF	Noon
	East Carolina at Liberty	2 p.m.
	Memphis at Middle Tennessee	2 p.m.
	Butler at Cincinnati	3 p.m.
Saturday, March 25	East Carolina at Richmond	10 a.m.
	Houston at BYU	Noon
	Temple at Florida International	Noon
	Dayton at Cincinnati	2 p.m.
	Memphis vs. Virginia Commonwealth (Murfeesboro, Tenn.)	2 p.m.
Sunday, March 26	Temple at USF	Noon
	Louisiana Tech at SMU	1 p.m.
	East Carolina at Wake Forest	4 p.m.

 
 
all times Eastern