PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending Feb. 12.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Peniston • Sr. • Memphis • Great Wakering, England
Peniston earned Player of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks as he led Memphis to a 4-0 win at Cornell and a 4-1 victory against Penn State. He took a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles against the Big Red and followed with a 7-5, 7-5 win at the top spot against the Nittany Lions and was 2-0 in No. 1 doubles. Peniston, ranked No. 61 nationally in the ITA rankings, improved to 5-1 in dual matches in the spring.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maria Martinez • Fr. • UCF • Benidorm, Spain
Martinez was a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles to lead the Knights to a 6-1 win at SMU and a 5-2 victory at No. 16 Baylor. Martinez took a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles against the Mustangs and battled to a 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory against the Bears to help the Knights improve to 6-1.
Ksenia Laskutova • Sr. • Tulsa • Moscow, Russia
Laskutova powered Tulsa to a 4-2 win at No. 16 Baylor, snapping the Bears’ home winning streak in regular-season play at 21 matches. After she registered a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, Laskutova was first off the court in singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles. Laskutova improved to 8-1 in dual matches in singles play for the 8-2 Golden Hurricane.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Tulane stands at No. 21 in the Feb. 7 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. The 2018 rankings will be conducted by a national panel until the conclusion of the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships in February, after which the rankings are decided by computer.
Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 29 in the Feb. 7 Oracle/ITA Rankings. Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 61, Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger is No. 66, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos is No. 68, UCF’s Alan Rubio is No. 77, Tulane’s Tyler Schick is No. 93, Tulane’s Ewan Moore is No. 103 and Tulsa’s Majed Kilani is No. 108. UCF’s doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 22, Tulane’s Tyler Schick/Luis Erlenbusch is No. 42 and USF’s tandem of Peter Bertran/Jacob Wojcik is No. 57.
ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 53 in the Feb. 7 ITA singles rankings. Fatima Bizhukova is No. 73, Sandra Honigova of Wichita State is No. 104, Martina Okalova of Tulsa is No. 111, Lauren Alter of Houston is No. 112. In doubles, Memphis’ tandem of Hanna Sohn/Katherine Cao is No. 54 in the Feb. 7 rankings.
The American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held in April at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas.
MEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (3-2) has won its last three dual matches after the Knights took a 6-1 win against North Florida last week. Korey Lovett, Alan Rubio and Danny Kerznerman were winners in both singles and doubles against the Ospreys as Lovett emerged victorious at the No 1 positions in both rounds. UCF is off until a March 3 match against Michigan which will be televised on The Tennis Channel.
UConn (3-4) dropped a pair of 7-0 decisions to Army and Buffalo as the Huskies headed to West Point last weekend. UConn returns to the Empire State Feb. 24 with a match at Fordham.
ECU (6-1) added two more wins to its ledger last week as the Pirates cruised past Hampton and Longwood by 6-1 scores. Vlad Anghel was a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles for ECU, as he moved to the No. 1 singles spot against Longwood and responded with a straight-set win. ECU hosts Temple Friday and entertains North Carolina Central Sunday.
Memphis (4-2) journeyed to Ithaca, New York, and came away with a pair of wins last week as the Tigers took a 4-0 victory against Cornell and a 4-1 decision against Penn State. Ryan Peniston improved to 5-1 in singles play with a pair of straight-set wins at No. 1, while the Tigers remained unbeaten (5-0) at the No. 2 singles position thanks to a win from Andrew Watson against Penn State. Memphis continues a stretch of three straight Big Ten opponents when the Tigers visit Michigan State Friday and Michigan Sunday.
USF (2-6) dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents last week as the Bulls fell 6-1 to No. 18 TCU and 4-0 to No. 12 Baylor. USF’s challenging schedule continues Feb. 23, when the Knights face No. 19 Oklahoma in Orlando, Florida.
SMU (3-6) fell to Arkansas (6-1) and No. 18 TCU (4-0) in the Mustangs’ two matches from last week. SMU hosts a doubleheader Saturday as the Mustangs take on Incarnate Word in the morning before facing Arkansas Pine Bluff in the evening.
Temple (5-2) has won four of its last five matches after the Owls edged Navy 4-3 and took a 5-2 victory at George Washington last week. Sophomore Francisco Bohorquez won both of his singles matches in straight sets to lead the Owls. Temple visits ECU Friday in its only dual match of the week.
Tulane (3-2) is No. 21 in the most recent Oracle/ITA poll. The Green Wave was off last week and is back in action Sunday against Nicholls.
Tulsa (3-7) fell to No. 19 Oklahoma in the Golden Hurricane’s only match from last week. The team point came from Majed Kilani, who is ranked No. 108 in singles play nationally and was a three-set winner at No. 2. Tulsa has a doubleheader Thursday against Arkansas Pine Bluff and Oral Roberts before the Golden Hurricane hosts Wichita State Monday.
Wichita State (1-4) was idle last week. The Shockers resume play Saturday against Middle Tennessee and host UMKC Sunday.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (6-1) extended its winning streak to four matches with a pair of wins in Texas last week. The Knights scored a 6-1 victory against SMU and took a 5-2 decision against No. 16 Baylor. UCF has registered two wins against ranked teams this season, including a season-opening victory against No. 15 South Carolina. UCF returns to Texas following a brief layoff as the Knights visit TCU Feb. 23 and Texas A&M Feb. 25.
Cincinnati (6-2) has won six of its last seven matches after the Bearcats were 5-2 winners against Memphis last week. Ioana Guna led the way with a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 1 singles and a 6-0 victory at No. 1 doubles alongside Caroline Morton. Cincinnati is back in action Friday against Toledo before the Bearcats visit Eastern Kentucky Saturday.
UConn (3-1) was idle last week. The Huskies head to Syracuse Friday before they visit West Point, New York, Sunday to face Stony Brook.
ECU (3-1) picked up its third straight win as the Pirates took a 6-1 decision against UNC Greensboro last week. Celia Ruiz, the No. 52-ranked singles player nationally, led the way with a 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles and a 6-2 victory with Lisa Hofbauer at No. 1 doubles. ECU stays on the road for a Thursday match at North Carolina State before the Pirates host Temple and Barton Saturday.
Houston (7-0) remained unbeaten with a 4-3 win against Nevada and a 6-1 decision at previously unbeaten Arizona last week. Lauren Alter, who is ranked No. 122 in singles play, led the way with a pair of straight-set wins at No. 3 singles and two wins at No. 2 doubles. Houston returns home Friday to face New Mexico State before the Cougars make the short road trip to Rice Saturday.
Memphis (5-3) opened the week with a 5-2 setback to Cincinnati, but the Tigers responded with a 5-0 win against Miami (Ohio) and a 5-2 win against Wright State. Senior Hannah Sohn was Memphis’ top player last week as she went 2-1 at No. 1 singles and won all three of her doubles matches. The Tigers head to Columbia, Missouri, for a Saturday match against Minnesota and a Sunday battle with Missouri.
USF (1-4) was idle last week. The Bulls are back in action Friday at Texas before they head to SMU Sunday.
SMU (3-3) dropped a 6-1 decision to UCF, but rebounded to take a 6-1 win against Northwestern State in its two dual matches from last week. Ana Perez-Lopez won both of her singles matches for the Mustangs, who face Texas A&M Saturday and USF Sunday in Dallas.
Temple (1-3) was forced to reschedule matches against Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth as the Owls deal with injuries and illnesses that have sidelined as many as six players. Temple will head to Greenville, North Carolina, Saturday for a match with ECU.
Tulane (4-3) split its two matches last week as the Green Wave fell 4-1 to Missouri before rebounding with a 5-1 victory against South Dakota State. The Green Wave is back in action with a pair of matches this week. Tulane hosts UTSA Friday and South Alabama Saturday.
Tulsa (8-2) has won its last three dual matches, including an impressive 4-2 decision against No. 16 Baylor last week. The win snapped the Bears’ 21-match winning streak at home in the regular season. Ksenia Laskutova led the way with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles coupled with a 6-3 victory with Martha Matoula at No. 1 doubles. Tulsa heads to West Lafayette, Indiana, this week for a Saturday match against DePaul and a Sunday contest against Purdue.
Wichita State (7-2) extended its winning streak to four matches with a 4-1 victory at Arkansas and a 4-2 decision against Old Dominion. Junior Sandra Honigova scored a 6-4, 6-2 win against the No. 67-ranked player from Arkansas and was a three-set winner against Old Dominion, playing at No. 2 singles. Honigova is 7-0 on the season, including two wins against top-75 players. Wichita State heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend to face Wyoming and Nebraska.
This Week In The American
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| Thursday, February 15 |
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Tulsa |
2 p.m. |
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Oral Roberts at Tulsa |
7 p.m. |
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| Friday, February 16 |
Temple at ECU |
2:30 p.m. |
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Memphis at Michigan State |
6 p.m. |
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| Saturday, February 17 |
Incarnate Word at SMU |
11 a.m. |
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Middle Tennessee at Wichita State |
2 p.m. |
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Arkansas Pine Bluff at SMU |
6 p.m. |
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| Sunday, February 18 |
North Carolina Central at ECU |
Noon |
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Memphis at Michigan |
Noon |
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UMKC at Wichita State |
1 p.m. |
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Nicholls at Tulane |
2 p.m. |
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| Monday, February 19 |
Wichita State at Tulsa |
7 p.m. |
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| WOMEN |
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| Thursday, February 15 |
ECU at North Carolina State |
6 p.m. |
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| Friday, February 16 |
USF at Texas |
1 p.m. |
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UTSA at Tulane |
2 p.m. |
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New Mexico State at Houston |
3 p.m. |
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Toledo at Cincinnati |
5 p.m. |
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UConn at Cornell |
5:30 p.m. |
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| Saturday, February 17 |
Temple at ECU |
10 a.m. |
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UConn vs. Rutgers (Ithaca, N.Y.) |
Noon |
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Houston at Rice |
Noon |
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Memphis vs. Minnesota (Columbia, Mo.) |
Noon |
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Texas A&M at SMU |
1 p.m. |
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Tulsa vs. DePaul (West Lafayette, Ind.) |
1 p.m. |
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South Alabama at Tulane |
2 p.m. |
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Cincinnati at Eastern Kentucky |
4 p.m. |
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Barton at ECU |
4 p.m. |
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| Sunday, February 18 |
Tulsa at Purdue |
10 a.m. |
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USF at SMU |
1 p.m. |
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Memphis at Missouri |
2 p.m. |
all times Eastern
Last Week’s Results
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| Wednesday, February 7 |
UCF 6, North Florida 1 |
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| Friday, February 9 |
Arkansas 6, SMU 1 |
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ECU 6, Hampton 1 |
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Memphis 4, Cornell 0 |
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Army 7, UConn 0 |
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TCU 6, USF 1 |
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Oklahoma 6, Tulsa 1 |
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| Saturday, February 10 |
Temple 4, Navy 3 |
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Buffalo 7, UConn 0 |
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Memphis 4, Penn State 1 |
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| Sunday, February 11 |
ECU 6, Longwood 1 |
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Baylor 4, USF 0 |
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TCU 4, SMU 0 |
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Temple 5, George Washington 2 |
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| WOMEN |
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| Thursday, February 8 |
Cincinnati 5, Memphis 2 |
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| Friday, February 9 |
ECU 6, UNC Greensboro 1 |
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Syracuse 5, UConn 2 |
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UCF 6, SMU 1 |
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| Saturday, February 10 |
Memphis 5, Miami (Ohio) 0 |
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Missouri 4, Tulane 1 |
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Wichita State 4, Arkansas 1 |
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Houston 4, Nevada 3 |
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Tulsa 4, Baylor 2 |
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| Sunday, February 11 |
UCF 5, Baylor 2 |
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Wichita State 4, Old Dominion 2 |
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UConn 4, Stony Brook 3 |
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Houston 6, Arizona 1 |
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Memphis 5, Wright State 2 |
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Tulane 5, South Dakota State 1 |
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| Monday, February 12 |
SMU 6, Northwestern State 1 |