PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Tulane junior Constantin Schmitz and Tulsa senior Dobby Leenabanchong have been chosen as the American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Week for the week-ending April 10.
       
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Constantin Schmitz • Jr. • Tulane
Schmitz was a winner at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles as Tulane scored a 6-1 win against No. 36 SMU to close the regular season. Schmitz registered his 11th singles win against ranked opponents this season with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against SMU’s top player, who was ranked No. 93 nationally. Schmitz also clinched the doubles point for the Green Wave with a 6-4 victory at the No. 1 spot. Schmitz improved his singles record to 15-3 in the 2017 spring season.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dobby Leenabanchong • Sr. • Tulsa
Leenabanchong helped Tulsa to a 4-2 win against No. 30 Kansas to close the regular season as the Golden Hurricane earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s American Athletic Conference Championship. Leenabanchong was a 7-5, 6-3 winner at No. 2 singles and a 7-5 winner at No. 2 doubles to contribute to two of the Golden Hurricane’s four team points against the Jayhawks.
 
 
AROUND THE AMERICAN
The American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held this week 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. Complete schedules, results, live scoring and video coverage can be found on Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/tennis.
 
Five American Athletic Conference men’s teams are ranked in the Oracle/ITA Division I men’s tennis rankings of April 18. USF is ranked No. 24, while Tulane is three spots back at No. 27. UCF follows at No. 31, SMU is No. 35 and Memphis is No. 36.
 
The April 18 ITA men’s singles rankings have Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz as the conference’s highest-ranked player at No. 17. Tulsa’s Or Ram-Harel is at No. 28, while UCF’s Korey Lovett is No. 54, USF’s Sasha Gozun is No. 61, Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 79, SMU’s Ronald Slobodchikov is No. 73, SMU’s Hunter Johnson is No. 91, Memphis’ Andrew Watson is No.96, and USF’s Peter Bertran is No. 107.
 
The men’s doubles tandems in the April 18 ITA rankings are Yates Johnson/Hunter Johnson of SMU at No. 19,  Majed Kilano/Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa at No. 45, Alberto Barroso-Campos/Sasha Gozun of USF at No. 51, Chi-Shan Jao/Constantin Schmitz of Tulane at No. 83., and Sebastian Rey/ Chi-Shan Jao of Tulane at No. 88,
 
Tulsa’s women’s team is ranked No. 34 in the April 18 edition of the Oracle/ITA rankings.
 
Naz Karagoz/Elena Muller of Tulane, are ranked No. 86 in the April 18 edition of the Oracle/ITA Doubles ranking for Divison I.
 
 

MEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (14-5), enters the American Athletic Conference Championship ranked No. 31 in the April 18 Oracle/ITA rankings. The Knights are the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and will face No. 6-seeded Tulsa in Friday’s quarterfinals. UCF dropped a 4-3 decision to the Golden Hurricane March 10 in Orlando.
 
UConn (9-11) fell 6-1 at Stony Brook to start last week, but closed the regular season with a 6-1 win against Saint Francis (N.Y.) to pick up its ninth win of the spring. UConn will be the No. 9 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will play its tournament opener Thursday against No. 8-seeded East Carolina. The Huskies fell 7-0 to the Pirates Jan. 28 in Greenville, North Carolina.
 
East Carolina (15-8) split a pair of dual matches to close the regular season as the Pirates topped Barton 6-1 before falling 5-2 to Elon. East Carolina is seeded No. 8 in the American Athletic Conference Championship and begins tournament play Thursday against UConn. The Pirates scored a 7-0 win against the Huskies Jan. 28 as part of a six-match winning streak to begin the 2017 spring season.
 
Memphis (14-7), which is ranked No. 36 nationally, was a 4-2 winner against Florida Gulf Coast, but the Tigers fell 4-0 to No. 26 USF in their final regular-season match. Memphis is the No. 5 seed in this week’s American Athletic Conference Championship, pairing the Tigers against No. 4-seeded SMU in Friday’s quarterfinals. Memphis took a 4-2 win against SMU April 1.
 
USF (14-8), which is ranked No. 24 in the April 18 edition of the Oracle/ITA rankings, closed the regular season in impressive fashion as the Bulls were 4-0 winners against No. 36 Memphis. That result helped propel USF to the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship as the Bulls begin their quest for a fourth straight conference title. USF will face either UConn or East Carolina in the quarterfinals.
 
SMU (13-10) went 2-1 in the final week of the regular season as the Mustangs took a 4-0 win against New Orleans, dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 27 Tulane and bounced back for a 4-1 victory against Rice. The Mustangs, ranked No. 35 in the April 18 Oracle/ITA rankings, are seeded No. 4 in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will face No. 5-seeded Memphis in Friday’s quarterfinals. SMU was a 4-2 winner against the Tigers April 1 in Memphis. 
 
Temple (17-9) brings a four-match winning streak into the postseason as the Owls scored a 5-0 win against Delaware, a 7-0 victory against Rider and a 6-1 win against Lehigh last week to close the regular season. Temple is the No. 7 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship, pairing the Owls against No. 2-seeded Tulane in Friday’s quarterfinals.
 
Tulane (17-4), which is ranked No. 27 in the Oracle/ITA rankings of April 18, extended its winning streak to four matches to close the regular season after the Green Wave took a 6-1 win against SMU in New Orleans last week. Tulane is the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will face No. 7-seeded Temple in the quarterfinal round Friday.
 
Tulsa (10-16) fell 4-0 to No. 5 Oklahoma State to close a regular season in which half of the Golden Hurricane’s 26 dual matches were against nationally ranked opponents. Tulsa is the No. 6 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will face No. 3-seeded UCF in Friday’s quarterfinals. Tulsa was a 4-3 winner against the Knights March 10 in Orlando, Flordia.
 
 

WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
 
UCF (12-8) fell 4-1 to USF to close the regular season as the Knights picked up the No. 8 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Knights begin play on their home courts at the USTA National Campus Wednesday against No. 9-seeded Houston.
 
Cincinnati (16-6) enters the American Athletic Conference Championship as the hottest team in the conference as the Bearcats take a nine-match winning streak into the postseason. Cincinnati closed the regular season with wins against Northern Kentucky (4-0), UConn (4-2) and East Carolina (4-0). The Bearcats are the No. 4 seed in The American Championship and will face Memphis Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Cincinnati took a 4-1 win against the Tigers April 8.
 
UConn (10-12) dropped its final two matches of the regular season as the Huskies fell 4-2 to Cincinnati and 4-3 to East Carolina last week. UConn is the No. 11 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will get another shot at East Carolina when the schools play Wednesday in the first round of the tournament.
 
East Carolina (11-10) went 2-1 in the final stretch of the regular season as the Pirates took a 7-0 win against Hampton and a 4-3 victory against UConn before falling 4-0 at Cincinnati. East Carolina, which is seeded No. 6 in the American Athletic Conference Championship, has a rematch with UConn Wednesday in the first round of the tournament.
 
Houston (10-12) closed the regular season with a 5-2 victory against Stephen F. Austin and will be the No. 9 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Cougars, who reached the semifinals of the tournament last season, will face No. 8-seeded UCF in Wednesday’s opening round.
 
Memphis (11-7) has been idle since April 8. The Tigers are the No. 5 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship, and will face No. 4-seeded Cincinnati in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Memphis closed the regular season with a 4-1 loss to the Bearcats April 8 in Cincinnati.
 
USF (11-10) has won its last two matches entering the postseason as the Bulls closed the regular season with a 5-1 victory at UCF. USF is the No. 7 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will begin tournament play Wednesday against No. 10 Temple. USF was a 6-1 winner against the Owls March 26 in Tampa.
 
SMU (16-6) closed the regular season with a 6-1 setback to North Texas and dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Louisiana Monroe. The Mustangs are seeded No. 3 in the American Athletic Conference Championship and begin tournament play Thursday against either UConn or East Carolina.
 
Temple (11-12) split a pair of matches to close the regular season as the Owls took a 7-0 win against Binghamton before dropping a 4-3 decision to George Washington. Temple is the No. 10 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship and will face No. 7-seeded USF Wednesday in the first round.
 
Tulane (22-6) is the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Green Wave will face either Temple or USF in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. Tulane beat USF 4-3 Feb. 19 and has not faced Temple this season.
 
Tulsa (18-6) closed the regular season with a 4-2 win at No. 30 Kansas, helping the Golden Hurricane to the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. Tulsa, which has won the last two American titles, begins tournament play Thursday with a quarterfinal match against either Houston or UCF. The Golden Hurricane did not face the Cougars in the regular season and was a 5-2 winner against the Knights March 18.

2017 American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
 
Wednesday, April 19 - First Round
Match 1: No. 10 Temple vs. No. 7 USF                                               9 a.m.
Match 2: No. 11 UConn  vs. No. 6 East Carolina                                 Noon
Match 3: No. 9 Houston vs. No. 8 UCF                                                Noon
 
Thursday, April 20 - Quarterfinals
Match 4: Houston/UCF vs. No. 1 Tulsa                                               Noon
Match 5: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 4 Cincinnati                                     Noon
Match 6: UConn/East Carolina vs. No. 3 SMU                                    3 p.m.
Match 7: Temple/USF vs. No. 2 Tulane                                               3 p.m.
 
Friday, April 21 - Semifinals
Match 8: Winner of Match 4 vs. Winner of Match 5                             3 p.m.
Match 9: Winner of Match 6 vs. Winner of Match 7                             3 p.m.
 
Saturday, April 22 - Final
Semifinal winners                                                                              3 p.m.
 
 
2017 American Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Championship Schedule
USTA National Campus • Orlando, Fla.
 
Thursday, April 20 - First Round
Match 1: No. 9 UConn vs. No. 8  East Carolina                                   9 a.m.
 
Friday, April 21 - Quarterfinals
Match 2: UConn/East Carolina vs. No. 1 USF                                      9 a.m.
Match 3: No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 4 SMU                                             9 a.m.
Match 4: No. 6 Tulsa vs. No.3 UCF                                                     Noon
Match 5: No. 7 Temple vs. No. 2 Tulane                                             Noon
 
Saturday, April 22 - Semifinals
Match 6: Winner of Match 2 vs. Winner of Match 3                             Noon
Match 7: Winner of Match 4 vs. Winner of Match 5                             Noon
 
Sunday, April 23 - Final
Semifinal winners                                                                              Noon
                                      
all times Eastern