PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending Feb. 26.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ewan Moore • So. • Tulane • Kilmarnock, Scotland
Moore went 2-0 at No. 2 singles and was 1-0 at No. 1 doubles last week in dual matches against No. 39 Mississippi State and No. 21 Texas Tech. Moore took a 6-4, 6-4 victory against the Bulldogs’ No. 2 player, who was No. 20 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings, and was a 7-6 (4), 6-4 winner against the Red Raiders. Moore, who was The American’s Freshman of the Year in 2017, is 6-2 this spring with four wins against ranked opponents.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sandra Honigova • Jr. • Wichita State • Brno, Czech Republic
Honigova led Wichita State to dual match victories against No. 49 Missouri (4-3) and Colorado (7-0) as she won a pair of singles matches at the top of the lineup. She was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at No. 2 singles against Missouri and delivered a 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 victory in her debut at No. 1 singles against Colorado, defeating the Buffaloes’ top player who was ranked No. 109 nationally. Honigova improved her singles record to 10-1 on the season.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Tulane’s men’s team stands at No. 22 in the Feb. 27 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. Memphis is No. 41 in the men’s rankings.
The American has four women’s teams in the Feb. 27 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings as Wichita State ranks No. 21, UCF is at No. 36, Tulsa is No. 41 and Houston is No. 49.
Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 24 in the Feb. 20 Oracle/ITA Rankings. Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 54, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos is No. 71, UCF’s Alan Rubio is No. 80, Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger is No. 81, Tulane’s Tyler Schick is No. 95, and Tulsa’s Majed Kilani is No. 119. UCF’s doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 23 and Tulane’s Tyler Schick/Luis Erlenbusch is No. 50.
ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 49 in the Feb. 20 ITA singles rankings. Fatima Bizhukova is No. 71, Martina Okalova of Tulsa is No. 95, Sandra Honigova of Wichita State is No. 106. In doubles, Houston’s tandem of Tsveta Dimitrova/Sveva Mazzari is No. 54 in the Feb. 20 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 (4-2) returned from a two-week layoff to score a 5-2 win against Stetson, extending the Knights’ winning streak to four matches. UCF got wins from the bottom four positions on the singles ladder and took all three doubles contests against the Hatters. UCF hosts No. 8 Michigan Saturday as part of the College MatchDay series on the Tennis Channel. The Knights then host No. 32 Baylor Monday.
UConn (3-5) returned to action with a 6-1 setback at Fordham last Saturday. The lone team point came from senior Jonathan Edwards, who took a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles. UConn visits Fairfield Friday and heads to Hofstra Saturday.
ECU (9-3) saw a four-match winning streak end with a 4-3 setback to Texas A&M Corpus Christi and a 4-0 loss to Louisiana. The Pirates rebounded with a 4-0 victory against Tennessee Tech. ECU visits The Citadel Saturday and begins a four-match stretch in Orlando, Florida, with a Monday contest against Sacred Heart.
Memphis (5-3) was idle last week. The Tigers are back in action Friday at No. 32 Baylor before heading to Dallas to face SMU Sunday.
USF (2-7) returned from a 12-day layoff to face No. 29 Oklahoma in Orlando, Florida, but the Bulls came up on the short end of a 4-3 score against the Sooners. Alberto Barroso-Campos was a 7-6 (3), 6-4 winner at No. 1 singles for USF, which is off until a March 9 match against George Washington.
SMU (5-7) fell 4-0 at No. 10 Oklahoma State last Sunday in the Mustangs’ only match of the week. SMU, which saw a modest two-match winning streak snapped, is in action this Sunday against No. 41 Memphis at the SMU Tennis Complex.
Temple (6-3) has won three of its last four dual matches after the Owls scored a 6-1 win against Binghamton last Saturday. Senior Thomas Sevel was a straight-set winner at No. 1 singles to lead a Temple lineup that took five of the six singles matches. the Owls host Wagner Friday.
Tulane (5-3) is No. 22 in the Feb. 27 Oracle/ITA team ranking. The Green Wave dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 39 Mississippi State, but bounced back with a 7-0 victory against No. 21 Texas Tech last week. The match against the Bulldogs was delayed several times by weather before it was finally moved indoors. Ewan Moore went 2-0 at No. 2 singles and Hamish Stewart won both of his matches at No. 3 to lead the Green Wave. Tulane visits Middle Tennessee Friday and is at No. 34 Vanderbilt Sunday.
Tulsa (6-8) was idle last week. The Golden Hurricane plays Wednesday matches against UT Arlington and No. 26 TCU.
Wichita State (3-5) did not play last week. The Shockers return to action at the Mountain Pacific Invitational March 2-4 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (6-2), which is ranked No. 36 in this week’s Oracle/ITA rankings, fell 4-1 to then-No. 16 TCU in the Knights’ only match of last week. The lone team point came at No. 1 singles as Ksenia Kuznetsova scored a straight-set win against the Horned Frogs’ player, who was ranked No. 82 nationally. UCF’s scheduled match against Texas A&M was canceled due to inclement weather. UCF will host No. 21 Michigan Saturday in the Tennis Channel’s College MatchDay series and will host ECU Sunday.
Cincinnati (7-4) has dropped two of its last three matches after the Bearcats were edged 4-3 by Temple last week. Cincinnati claimed the doubles point, but managed two singles wins. Antonella Bramato took a straight-set win at No. 4 and scored a victory at No. 3 doubles as well. The Bearcats visit Marshall Friday and remain on the Thundering Herd campus to face VCU Sunday.
UConn (5-5) dropped a pair of matches in Houston last week as the Huskies fell 5-2 to the Cougars and suffered a 4-3 heartbreaker against Northwestern State. Senior Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva continues to be a bright spot for UConn as she was a winner in straight sets at No. 1 singles in both matches last week, improving to 8-2 at the top spot. UConn has a pair of home matches against American Athletic Conference counterparts as the Huskies host Temple Friday and Tulane Sunday in East Hartford, Connecticut.
ECU (6-3) split a pair of dual matches last week as the Pirates scored a 6-2 win against UNC Wilmington and dropped a 5-2 decision to Coastal Carolina. ECU begins a stretch of five matches in Orlando, Florida, with a Sunday match at UCF and Monday battles with Sacred Heart and St. Cloud State.
Houston (10-1) picked up a pair of wins last week as the Cougars knocked off UConn (5-2) and Northwestern State (5-0). The Cougars, who are ranked No. 49 in the Feb. 27 Oracle/ITA list, face a pair of in-state opponents this week as Houston visits Abilene Christian Friday and North Texas Saturday.
Memphis (7-5) dropped its second straight match with a 5-2 setback to Mississippi State, but the Tigers got back in the win column with a 6-1 decision against Stephen F. Austin. Katherine Cao won both of her singles matches, including a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Stephen F. Austin at the No. 4 spot. Memphis is off until a March 8 match against Penn State in Orlando, Florida.
USF (2-7) fell in two matches last week as the Bulls dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Oklahoma before falling 6-1 to No. 29 Tulsa in a rematch of last year’s American Athletic Conference Championship final. Nicole Dzenga provided the lone team point against the Golden Hurricane as she took a three-set win at No. 67 singles. USF hosts Western Michigan Sunday.
SMU (3-5) was idle last week. The Mustangs are back in action Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara and take on Loyola Marymount Wednesday.
Temple (2-4) snapped a four-match slide with a 4-3 win against Cincinnati last week as Yana Khon delivered a three-set win at No. 6 singles to clinch the victory. Kristina Titova also scored a three-set win at No. 3 singles to help the Owls’ rally. Temple visits UConn Friday and will face Tulane Saturday in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Tulane (7-5) went 1-2 in three matches last week as the Green Wave fell 4-2 at LSU, took a 5-2 win against Chattanooga and dropped a 4-0 decision to Middle Tennessee. Ivone Alvaro remains atop the Green Wave leaderboard with a 5-2 singles record in dual matches. Tulane heads to New England for a pair of matches against American Athletic Conference opponents. The Green Wave faces Temple Saturday and battles UConn Sunday in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Tulsa (11-2), which is ranked No. 41 in the Feb. 27 Oracle/ITA list, has won its last six dual matches after the Golden Hurricane was a 6-1 winner against USF in a rematch of last year’s conference championship match. Martina Okalova was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at No. 2 singles and she picked up a win at No. 2 doubles against the Bulls. Tulsa hosts Oklahoma Saturday.
Wichita State (10-3), which is ranked No. 21 in the Oracle/ITA list of Feb. 27, scored dual match wins against No. 49 Missouri (4-3) and Colorado (7-0) last week as Sandra Honigova led the way with a pair of key singles wins, improving her individual record to 10-1 in singles. Wichita State visits No. 20 Kansas Friday and remains in Lawrence to face Gonzaga Saturday.
This Week In The American
| MEN |
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| Wednesday, February 28 |
Tulsa at UT Arlington |
11:30 a.m. |
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Tulsa at TCU |
6:30 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 2 |
Wagner at Temple |
9 a.m. |
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Memphis at Baylor |
3 p.m. |
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Tulane at Middle Tennessee |
3 p.m. |
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UConn at Fairfield |
6 p.m. |
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Wichita State at Mountain Pacific Invitational |
TBD |
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| Saturday, March 3 |
Michigan at UCF (Tennis Channel) |
12:30 p.m. |
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UConn at Hofstra |
4 p.m. |
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ECU at The Citadel |
9:30 a.m. |
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Wichita State at Mountain Pacific Invitational |
TBD |
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| Sunday, March 4 |
Tulane at Vanderbilt |
10 a.m. |
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Memphis at SMU |
2 p.m. |
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Wichita State at Mountain Pacific Invitational |
TBD |
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| Monday, March 5 |
Baylor at UCF |
6 p.m. |
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ECU vs. Sacred Heart (Orlando, Fla.) |
Noon |
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| WOMEN |
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| Tuesday, February 27 |
SMU at UC Santa Barbara |
3 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, February 28 |
SMU at Loyola Marymount |
4 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 2 |
Cincinnati at Marshall |
TBD |
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Houston at Abilene Christian |
11 a.m. |
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Wichita State at Kansas |
6 p.m. |
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Temple at UConn |
7 p.m. |
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| Saturday, March 3 |
Michigan at UCF (Tennis Channel) |
12:30 p.m. |
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Houston at North Texas |
1 p.m. |
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Temple vs. Tulane (East Hartford, Conn.) |
1 p.m. |
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Oklahoma at Tulsa |
1 p.m. |
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Wichita State vs. Gonzaga (Lawrence, Kan.) |
6 p.m. |
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Cincinnati vs. VCU (Huntington, W.Va.) |
TBD |
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| Sunday, March 4 |
Tulane at UConn |
10 a.m. |
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ECU at UCF |
11 a.m. |
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Western Michigan at USF |
Noon |
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| Monday, March 5 |
ECU vs. Sacred Heart (Orlando, Fla.) |
9 a.m. |
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ECU vs. St. Cloud State (Orlando, Fla.) |
3 p.m. |
all times Eastern
Last Week’s Results
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| Wednesday, February 21 |
UCF 5, Stetson 2 |
| Friday, February 23 |
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4, ECU 3 |
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Oklahoma 4, USF 3 |
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Mississippi State 4, Tulane 3 |
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Louisiana 4, ECU 0 |
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| Saturday, February 24 |
ECU 4, Tennessee Tech 0 |
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Fordham 6, UConn 1 |
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Temple 6, Binghamton 1 |
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| Sunday, February 25 |
Oklahoma State 4, SMU 0 |
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Tulane 7, Texas Tech 0 |
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| WOMEN |
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| Tuesday, February 20 |
LSU 4, Tulane 2 |
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| Friday, February 23 |
Houston 5, UConn 2 |
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ECU 6, UNC Wilmington 2 |
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Wichita State 4, Missouri 3 |
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TCU 4, UCF 1 |
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Oklahoma 4, USF 3 |
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| Saturday, February 24 |
Coastal Carolina 5, ECU 2 |
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Tulane 5, Chattanooga 2 |
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Northwestern State 4, UConn 3 |
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Houston 5, Northwestern State 0 |
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Mississippi State 5, Memphis 2 |
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Temple 4, Cincinnati 3 |
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| Sunday, February 25 |
Memphis 6, Stephen F. Austin 1 |
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Wichita State 7, Colorado 0 |
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Tulsa 6, USF 1 |
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Middle Tennessee 4, Tulane 0 |