PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending April 9.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Constantin Schmitz • Sr. • Tulane • Remagen, Germany
Schmitz earns Player of the Week honors for the third straight week, the fourth time this season and the conference-record 10th time in his career after he led Tulane to 6-1 wins against Rice and USF by going 2-0 in both singles and doubles play. Ranked No. 11 nationally in singles, Schmitz scored a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot against Rice and followed with a 6-4, 6-3 decision against USF’s top player, who is ranked No. 77. Schmitz has won nine straight singles matches, eight straight doubles matches and has 11 singles wins against ranked opponents this season.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Karina Traxler • Jr. • SMU • Rockwall, Texas
Traxler won a pair of singles matches at the No. 1 spot and split her two doubles matches to lead SMU to 4-1 wins against UT Arlington and Houston last week. She scored a 6-3, 6-3 win against the Cougars’ top player, who was ranked No. 103 in last week’s singles, while she was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at No. 1 against the Mavericks. Traxler has won her last four singles matches to give her a team-leading 12 wins on the 2017-18 season.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Memphis' men's team is ranked No. 17 in the April 10 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. Tulane is ranked No. 26 and UCF is No. 38.
The American has three women’s teams in the April 10 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings as UCF is No. 19, Tulsa is No. 29 and Wichita State is No. 34.
Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 14 in the April 10 Oracle/ITA Rankings. Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 50, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos is No. 82, Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger is No. 102, Memphis’ Andrew Watson is No. 108, Tulane’s Ewan Moore is No. 111, and Tulsa’s Majed Kilani is No. 114.
UCF’s doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 3, Memphis’ Ryan Peniston/Andrew Watson is No. 35, Constantin Schmitz/Ewan Moore of Tulane rank No. 47 and Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger/Jarod Hing is No. 62.
Fatima Bizhukova of Wichita State is No. 56 in the April 10 ITA singles rankings. ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 69, Ksenia Laskutova of Tulsa is No. 72, Tsveta Dimitrova of Houston is No. 110, Martina Okalova of Tulsa is No. 117 and Rebeka Stolmar of UCF is No. 120.
In doubles, UCF’s duo of Ksenia Kuznetsova/Maria Martinez is No. 51 and Wichita State’s tandem of Fatima Bizhukova/Marta Bellucco is No. 64.
The American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held next week at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas. The women’s championship takes place April 18-21, while the men’s championship will be played April 19-22.
MEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (10-8), which is No. 38 in this week’s Oracle/ITA rankings, split a pair of matches on the road against American Athletic Conference teams last week. The Knights scored a 5-2 win at Tulsa, but dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 17 Memphis. UCF’s top doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 3 nationally entering the final week of regular-season play. The Knights close their regular season Sunday against USF in a War On I-4 matchup.
UConn (4-13) looks to snap a four-match slide after the Huskies dropped a 6-1 decision to Bryant and a 5-2 setback to Boston University last week. UConn heads to Greenville, North Carolina, to close the regular season with a Saturday matchup against Richmond and a Sunday contest against ECU.
ECU (19-4) has won 11 of its last 12 matches after the Pirates scored a 4-1 win against Charleston in their only match from last week. ECU closes the regular season with two matches this week – a Wednesday trip to Coastal Carolina and a Saturday matchup against UConn – before heading to the American Athletic Conference Championship next week.
Memphis (16-4) enters this week ranked No. 17 in the Oracle/ITA list and has won its last 10 matches after the Tigers topped USF and No. 38 UCF by 4-0 scores last week. Senior Andrew Watson led the way with a pair of straight-set wins at No. 2 singles. The Tigers close the regular season Saturday against Temple.
USF (7-15) fell in a pair of matches against nationally ranked opponents last week as No. 17 Memphis was a 4-0 winner against the Bulls before No. 26 Tulane took a 6-1 decision. The Bulls make the trek on I-4 to Orlando Sunday for their regular-season finale against No. 38 UCF before USF begins its quest for a fifth straight American Athletic Conference title next week.
SMU (8-15) head coach Carl Neufeld earned his 600th career victory Sunday as the Mustangs topped UT Arlington in Dallas. Neufeld, who is in his 25th year with the Mustangs, has 419 career wins with SMU. The Mustangs, who had dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Wichita State earlier in the week, host Tulsa Friday and close the regular season Sunday against Rice.
Temple (11-8) split a pair of matches on the weekend as the Owls rolled to a 7-0 win against La Salle, but dropped a 5-2 decision to St. John’s. Juan Araoz (at No. 2) and Mark Wallner (at No. 5) won both of their singles matches last week to pace the Owls, who close the regular season with a Saturday match at No. 17 Memphis and a Sunday contest against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Tulane (15-6), which is ranked No. 26 in this week’s national rankings, has won four straight and nine of its last 10 after 6-1 wins against Rice and USF last week. The result against USF was Tulane’s first win against the Bulls in the Green Wave’s four-year history in the American Athletic Conference. Senior Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 13 in this week’s Oracle/ITA singles rankings and takes a 16-4 dual match record into the American Athletic Conference Championship next week.
Tulsa (10-15) dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 38 UCF in the Golden Hurricane’s only match from last week as Majed Kilani scored a three-set win at No. 1 singles and Boriss Kamdem won a three-set battle at No. 6. Tulsa closes its regular season this week with a Wednesday matchup against No. 30 Texas Tech and a Friday match at SMU.
Wichita State (14-8) extended its winning streak to seven matches as the Shockers topped SMU 4-3 for their first win in nine all-time meetings with the Mustangs. Wichita State closes the regular season Saturday with a trip to Des Moines, Iowa, to face Drake.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (17-2) has moved up to No. 19 in the April 10 Oracle/ITA Division I Women’s Collegiate Rankings. The Knights have won their last 11 matches after last week’s 4-1 win against USF and a 4-0 victory against No. 44 Rice. Freshman Rebeka Stolmar leads the Knights with 17 singles wins after her straight-set victory at No. 3 against the Owls. UCF closes its regular season with two road matches – a Friday visit to No. 29 Tulsa and a Sunday contest at No. 34 Wichita State.
Cincinnati (10-8) was a 5-2 winner against Northern Kentucky in the Bearcats’ lone match from last week as Emma Miceli scored a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles to clinch the win. The Bearcats play their final two matches of the regular season this weekend with a trip to Storrs, Connecticut. Cincinnati faces ECU Saturday and will take on UConn Sunday.
UConn (10-8) dropped a 6-1 decision to Memphis to start last week, but the Huskies bounced back with a 4-3 win against a Boston University squad that had won the last four Patriot League titles. Senior Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva leads the Huskies with a 14-4 record at the No. 1 singles spot. UConn closes its regular season with home matches against ECU (Friday) and Cincinnati (Sunday).
ECU (15-8) picked up three wins last week as the Pirates edged Elon and VCU by 4-3 scores and rolled past North Carolina A&T 6-1 to complete a 7-0 season at home. Celia Ruiz brings a 12-3 singles record at the No. 1 spot into the Pirates’ final two matches of the season, a Friday contest at UConn and a Saturday match against Cincinnati on UConn’s campus.
Houston (19-3) capped a 14-0 season in home matches with a pair of wins against Prairie View A&M, ending the Cougars’ regular season on a high note after they had fallen 4-1 to SMU earlier in the week. Tsveta Dimitrova enters the postseason with a 17-4 dual match record, playing primarily at the No. 1 spot, while Sveva Mazzari is 18-1 playing mostly at No. 2. Houston is off until next week’s American Athletic Conference Championship in Dallas.
Memphis (14-7) extended its winning streak to six matches after the Tigers took a 6-1 win against UConn and a 5-2 victory against Boston University last week in Connecticut. The Tigers’ No. 4 and No. 6 players were both 2-0 on the week Memphis plays its regular-season finale Saturday against Western Kentucky.
USF (11-9) dropped a pair of matches against nationally ranked opponents last week as the Bulls fell 4-1 to No. 22 USF and dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 44 Rice. The Bulls won the doubles point against Rice, but the Owls claimed four of the six singles contests. USF closes its regular season Friday at No. 40 Florida International.
SMU (10-8) has won six of its last seven matches after the Mustangs scored 4-1 wins against UT Arlington and Houston last week. Junior Karina Traxler, who was an All-Big 12 selection at Baylor last year, led the way with a pair of straight-set wins at No. 1 singles to improve to 12-5 in dual matches. SMU closes its regular season with home matches against North Texas (Thursday) and Louisiana-Monroe (Saturday).
Temple (7-7) took a 7-0 win against La Salle in the Owls’ only match from last week as all six singles players won their matches in straight sets. Temple has a busy week ahead in its final action of the regular season. The Owls host Rider Wednesday, head to Villanova Thursday, return home to face Binghamton Saturday and take on Fairleigh Dickinson Sunday.
Tulane (11-10) was idle last week. The Green Wave plays its final regular-season match Friday against Louisiana.
Tulsa (17-5). which is ranked No. 29 in this week's Oracle/ITA rankings, fell 4-2 to No. 10 Oklahoma State last week, but bounced back with a 4-0 victory against North Texas. Ksenia Laskutova remains atop the Golden Hurricane’s leaderboard with a 14-4 dual match record, primarily at No. 1 singles. The Golden Hurricane will host No. 19 UCF Friday to close the regular season.
Wichita State (15-6) was idle last week. The Shockers, who are ranked No. 34 nationally this week, resume play Friday against No. 36 Kansas State before closing the regular season Sunday against No. 19 UCF.
This Week In The American
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| Wednesday, April 11 |
ECU at Coastal Carolina |
2:30 p.m. |
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Tulsa at Texas Tech |
6 p.m. |
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| Friday, April 13 |
Tulsa at SMU |
5:30 p.m. |
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| Saturday, April 14 |
Temple at Memphis |
11 a.m. |
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Wichita State at Drake |
11 a.m. |
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UConn vs. Richmond (Greenville, N.C.) |
1 p.m. |
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| Sunday, April 15 |
UConn at ECU |
Noon |
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SMU at Rice |
Noon |
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Fairleigh Dickinson at Temple |
12:30 p.m. |
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USF at UCF |
5:30 p.m. |
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| WOMEN |
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| Wednesday, April 11 |
Rider at Temple |
2 p.m. |
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| Thursday, April 12 |
North Texas at SMU |
5 p.m. |
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| Friday, April 13 |
USF at Florida International |
1 p.m. |
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ECU at UConn |
2 p.m. |
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Temple at Villanova |
3 p.m. |
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Louisiana at Tulane |
3:30 p.m. |
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Kansas State at Wichita State |
5 p.m. |
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UCF at Tulsa |
6 p.m. |
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| Saturday, April 14 |
Binghamton at Temple |
12:30 p.m. |
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Louisiana Monroe at SMU |
1 p.m. |
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Cincinnati vs. ECU (Storrs, Conn.) |
1 p.m. |
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Western Kentucky at Memphis |
2 p.m. |
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| Sunday, April 15 |
Cincinnati at UConn |
Noon |
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UCF at Wichita State |
1 p.m. |
all times Eastern
Last Week’s Results
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| Friday, April 6 |
Temple 7, La Salle 0 |
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Memphis 4, USF 0 |
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Wichita State 4, SMU 3 |
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UCF 5, Tulsa 2 |
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| Saturday, April 7 |
Tulane 6, Rice 1 |
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Bryant 6, UConn 1 |
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St. John’s 5, Temple 2 |
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| Sunday, April 8 |
ECU 4, Charleston 1 |
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Memphis 4, UCF 0 |
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Tulane 6, USF 1 |
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Boston University 5, UConn 2 |
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SMU 4, UT Arlington 3 |
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| WOMEN |
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| Wednesday, April 4 |
UCF 4, USF 1 |
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Cincinnati 5, Northern Kentucky 2 |
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SMU 4, UT Arlington 1 |
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| Thursday, April 5 |
ECU 4, Elon 3 |
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| Friday, April 6 |
Temple 6, La Salle 0 |
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Memphis 6, UConn 1 |
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UCF 4, Rice 0 |
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Oklahoma State 4, Tulsa 2 |
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| Saturday, April 7 |
ECU 4, VCU 3 |
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UConn 4, Boston University 3 |
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SMU 4, Houston 1 |
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ECU 6, North Carolina A&T 1 |
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| Sunday, April 8 |
Memphis 5, Boston University 2 |
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Houston 4, Prairie View A&M 0 |
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Houston 4, Prairie View A&M 0 |
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Rice 4, USF 3 |
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Tulsa 4, North Texas 0 |