PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending March 5.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andrew Watson • Sr. • Memphis • Reigate, England
Watson won a pair of singles matches in straight sets as Memphis split its two dual matches last week. He was a 6-3, 6-2 winner against Baylor and a 6-0, 6-3 winner against SMU, playing at the No. 2 position. The two wins lifted Watson’s singles record to 6-3 this season.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ksenia Laskutova • Sr. • Tulsa • Moscow, Russia
Laskutova led the way in Memphis’ 6-1 win against Oklahoma as she earned wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles against the Sooners. She took a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 against the nation’s No. 26-ranked player in singles play and rolled to a 6-1 doubles win. Laskutova improved her singles record to 11-2 in dual matches and 2-2 against nationally ranked opponents.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Tulane’s men’s team stands at No. 34 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. Memphis is No. 45.
The American has three women’s teams in the top 30 of the March 6 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings as Wichita State stands at No. 23, UCF is No. 25 and Tulsa is No. 26.
Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 15 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA Rankings. Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 63, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos is No. 71, Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger is No. 71, Tulane’s Ewan Moore is No. 77, Tulsa’s Majed Kilani is No. 119 and UCF’s Alan Rubio is No. 124. UCF’s doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 11, Wichita State’s Marius Frosa/Murkel Dellien is No. 76 and Tulane’s Tyler Schick/Luis Erienbusch is No. 80.
ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 53 in the Feb. 20 ITA singles rankings. Ksenia Laskutova of Tulsa is No. 71, Fatima Bizhukova of Wichita State is No. 85, Rebeka Stolmar of UCF is No. 92, Martina Okalova of Tulsa is No. 92, Sandra Honigova of Wichita State is No. 102. In doubles, Houston’s tandem of Tsveta Dimitrova/Sveva Mazzari is No. 54 and Hanna Sohn/Katherine Cao of Memphis is No. 78.
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 (4-4) dropped a pair of matches last week as the Knights fell 4-1 to No. 8 Michigan were edged 4-3 by Baylor. ThUCF plays a pair of home matches this week as the Knights host Penn State Wednesday and Virginia Sunday.
UConn (3-7) dropped matches to Fairfield (4-3) and Hofstra (5-2) last week. UConn will play its next three dual matches in Bradenton, Florida, beginning with Sunday’s contest against Drexel.
ECU (12-3) won three matches last week to extend its winning streak to four matches. ECU took both ends of a doubleheader with The Citadel, taking a 7-0 victory in the opener and a 6-1 win in the nightcap. The Pirates were 6-1 winners Monday against Sacred Heart. ECU completes its trip to Orlando, Florida, with a Wednesday match against Xavier and Thursday matchups against Grand Valley State and Coe.
Memphis (6-4) is No. 45 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA team rankings. The Tigers suffered a 4-1 setback to No. 32 Baylor before the Tigers rebounded to take a 4-1 win against SMU. Up next for the Tigers is a Sunday match against No. 14 Oklahoma State.
USF (2-7) did not play last week. The Bulls play a stretch of three matches in three days in Tampa with a Friday contest against George Washington, a Saturday tilt against Old Dominion and a Sunday match against Utah State.
SMU (5-8) fell 4-1 to Memphis in the Mustangs’ only match from last week. SMU will look to snap a two-match slide with a Monday doubleheader against Prairie View A&M in Dallas.
Temple (7-3) has won back-to-back matches after the Owls took a 6-1 decision against Wagner last Friday. The Owls return to the court Saturday against Monmouth and visit No. 39 Princeton Sunday.
Tulane (6-4) is No. 34 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA team ranking. The Green Wave was a 5-2 winner against Middle Tennessee, but lost 4-1 to then-No. 34 Vanderbilt. The lone team point against Vanderbilt came from senior Constantin Schmitz, who scored a three-set win against the No. 50-ranked player..
Tulsa (7-9) split a pair of matches in the state of Texas as the Golden Hurricane was a 4-3 winner against UT Arlington before falling 4-0 to No. 26 TCU. Tulsa continues its challenging schedule Friday against No. 14 Oklahoma State.
Wichita State (6-5) went 3-0 at the Mountain Pacific Tournament to win the team title for the second straight year. The Shockers beat San Francisco 4-0, handled No. 46 New Mexico 4-1 and capped the week with a 4-2 win against Grand Canyon. Wichita State, which has won its last five matches, visits Oklahoma Thursday and hosts Nebraska Friday before entertaining New Mexico in a rematch Sunday.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (8-2) turned in a pair of impressive victories last week as the Knights topped then-No. 25 Michigan 4-2 and were 4-0 winners against ECU. UCF is ranked No. 25 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA rankings. The Knights have three matches on the docket for this week – a Wednesday visit from East Tennessee State and a twinbill Saturday against Penn State and Memphis.
Cincinnati (7-6) has dropped its last three matches by 4-3 scores, including setbacks to Marshall and VCU last week. The Bearcats are off this week and return to action March 13 against UTEP.
UConn (5-6) has dropped its last three matches after a 5-2 setback to Temple. The Huskies were slated to host Tulane last Sunday, but the Green Wave was unable to travel due to weather conditions in the Northeast. UConn will head to warmer climates this week as the Huskies visit Bradenton, Florida, to face Drexel Sunday.
ECU (6-4) fell 4-0 to No. 28 UCF, but came back with a 7-0 win against Sacred Heart and a 6-1 win against Division II St. Cloud State in Orlando, Florida. The Pirates continue their stay in Orlando with Wednesday matches against Grand Valley State and South Dakota State.
Houston (12-1) has won its last four matches after the Cougars took a 4-0 win against Abilene Christian and a 4-2 victory against North Texas last week. Tsveta Dimitrova earned a pair of wins at No. 1 singles to push her record to 11-2 on the year. Houston is back in action Monday when they host Louisiana and UTRGV..
Memphis (7-5) was idle last week. The Tigers head to Florida for three matches this week. Memphis faces Penn State in Orlando Thursday, heads to Tampa to face USF Friday and returns to Orlando to face UCF Saturday.
USF (3-7) snapped a two-match slide with a 6-1 win against Western Michigan Sunday. The Bulls took the doubles point and won five singles matches against the Broncos. USF hosts Michigan State Wednesday and Memphis Friday.
SMU (4-6) went 1-1 on its midweek trip to California as the Mustangs scored a 4-3 win at UC Santa Barbara, but fell 6-1 at Loyola Marymount. SMU returns to Dallas Friday to face No. 31 Kansas State and will host Georgia State Sunday
Temple (3-4) has won its last two dual matches after the Owls took a 5-2 win at UConn, completing a string of three matches against American Athletic Conference opponents. Temple looks to extend its winning streak with a Thursday match against La Salle and a Friday contest against Fordham.
Tulane (7-5) saw its scheduled matches against Temple and UConn in Connecticut canceled due to inclement weather in the Northeast that prevented the Green Wave from traveling. Tulane is in action this weekend against Virginia Tech and Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia.
Tulsa (12-2) was a 6-1 winner against Oklahoma in its only dual match from last week. The Golden Hurricane has moved to No. 26 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA rankings thanks in large part to a seven-match winning streak. Ksenia Laskutova is ranked No. 71 nationally in singles play, while Martina Okalova is No. 97. Tulsa will face No. 15 Kansas Friday and hosts Texas A&M Corpus Christi Sunday.
Wichita State (11-4) has moved up to No. 23 in the March 6 Oracle/ITA rankings after the Shockers split a pair of matches last week. Wichita State was edged 4-3 by No. 20 Kansas, but the Shockers bounced back with a 4-3 victory against Gonzaga. Sandra Honigova scored a three-set win at No. 2 singles to clinch the win against the Bulldogs. Wichita State will be at Hawaii Wednesday and will face North Texas Saturday in Rancho Mirage, Callif.
This Week In The American
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| Wednesday, March 7 |
ECU vs. Xavier (Orlando, Fla.) |
1:30 p.m. |
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Penn State at UCF |
6 p.m. |
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Memphis at Tulane |
2 p.m. |
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| Thursday, March 8 |
ECU vs. Grand Valley State (Orlando, Fla.) |
11:30 a.m. |
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Wichita State at Oklahoma |
6 p.m. |
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ECU vs. Coe (Orlando, Fla.) |
6:30 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 9 |
Michigan State at Tulane |
Noon |
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George Washington at USF |
1 p.m. |
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Alcorn State at Tulane |
4 p.m. |
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Alcorn State at Tulane |
6 p.m. |
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| Saturday, March 10 |
Old Dominion at USF |
1:30 p.m. |
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Monmouth at Temple |
4 p.m. |
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Nebraska at Wichita State |
4 p.m. |
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| Sunday, March 11 |
UConn vs. Drexel (Bradenton, Fla.) |
10 a.m. |
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Utah State at USF |
10 a.m. |
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Temple at Princeton |
10 a.m. |
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Drake at Tulsa |
11 a.m. |
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Virginia at UCF |
1 p.m. |
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New Mexico at Wichita State |
1 p.m. |
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Oklahoma State at Memphis |
1 p.m. |
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Omaha at Tulsa |
3 p.m. |
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| Monday, March 12 |
Prairie View A&M at SMU |
12:30 a.m. |
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Prairie View A&M at SMU |
4:30 p.m. |
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| WOMEN |
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| Wednesday, March 7 |
ECU vs. Grand Valley State (Orlando, Fla.) |
9 a.m. |
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Michigan State at USF |
Noon |
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ECU vs. South Dakota State (Orlando, Fla.) |
3 p.m. |
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East Tennessee State at UCF |
5 p.m. |
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Wichita State at Hawaii |
8:30 p.m. |
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| Thursday, March 8 |
Memphis vs. Penn State (Orlando, Fla.) |
10 a.m. |
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| Friday, March 9 |
Fordham at Temple |
Noon |
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Memphis at USF |
1 p.m. |
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Kansas at Tulsa |
3:30 p.m. |
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Kansas State at SMU |
5 p.m. |
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| Saturday, March 10 |
Penn State at UCF |
Noon |
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Wichita State vs. North Texas (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) |
Noon |
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Tulane vs. Virginia Tech (Norfolk, Va.) |
2 p.m. |
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Memphis at UCF |
6 p.m. |
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| Sunday, March 11 |
Tulane at Old Dominion |
11 a.m. |
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Georgia State at USF |
1 p.m. |
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UConn vs. Drexel (Bradenton, Fla.) |
4 p.m. |
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Texas A&M Corpus Christi at Tulsa |
TBD |
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| Monday, March 12 |
UConn vs. Army (Bradenton, Fla.) |
10 a.m. |
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Louisiana at Houston |
Noon |
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UTEP at USF |
Noon |
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UTRGV at Houston |
4 p.m. |
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| all times Eastern |
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Last Week’s Results
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| Wednesday, February 28 |
Tulsa 4, UT Arlington 3 |
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TCU 4, Tulsa 0 |
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| Friday, March 2 |
Temple 6, Wagner 1 |
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Baylor 4, Memphis 1 |
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Tulane 5, Middle Tennessee 2 |
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Fairfield 4, UConn 3 |
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Wichita State 4, New Mexico 1 |
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| Saturday, March 3 |
Michigan 4 Baylor 1 |
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Hofstra 5, UConn 2 |
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ECU 7, The Citadel 0 |
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ECU 6, The Citadel 1 |
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Wichita State 4, San Francisco 0 |
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| Sunday, March 4 |
Vanderbilt 4, Tulane 1 |
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Memphis 4, SMU 1 |
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Wichita State 4, Grand Canyon 2 |
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| Monday, March 5 |
Baylor 4, UCF 3 |
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ECU 6, Sacred Heart 1 |
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| WOMEN |
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| Tuesday, February 27 |
SMU 4, UC Santa Barbara 3 |
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| Wednesday, February 28 |
Loyola Marymount 6, SMU 1 |
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| Friday, March 2 |
Marshall 4, Cincinnati 3 |
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Houston 4, Abilene Christian 0 |
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Kansas 4, Wichita State 3 |
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Temple 5, UConn 2 |
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| Saturday, March 3 |
UCF 4, Michigan 2 |
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Houston 4, North Texas 2 |
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Tulsa 6, Oklahoma 1 |
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Wichita State 4, Gonzaga 3 |
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VCU 4, Cincinnati 3 |
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| Sunday, March 4 |
UCF 4, ECU 0 |
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USF 6, Western Michigan 1 |
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| Monday, March 5 |
ECU 7, Sacred Heart 0 |
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ECU 6, St. Cloud State 1 |