PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending Feb. 5.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Korey Lovett • Sr. • UCF • Brevard, N.C.
Lovett was a winner in both singles and doubles to lead UCF to a 6-1 win against Auburn in the Knights’ only dual match from last week. Lovett took a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles and joined Eero Vasa for a 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles against the Tigers.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sandra Honigova • Jr. • Wichita State • Brno, Czech Republic
Honigova went 2-0 in singles play, registering a pair of straight-set wins at No. 3 singles to lead Wichita State in a 1-1 week. She was a 6-4, 6-2 winner against the No. 61-ranked player in the Shockers’ 4-3 setback to North Carolina State and was a 6-1, 6-4 winner in a 4-0 victory against UT Arlington. Honigova is off to a 5-0 start in singles play this season.
 
 
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Tulane’s moved up to No. 20 in the Jan. 31 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 finished the fall season ranked No. 21 nationally in men’s singles. The Green Wave’s Luis Erlenbusch was No. 46, Tulsa’s Majed Kilani was No. 56, the Golden Hurricane’s Joshua Goodger was No. 82, Tulane’s Tyuler Schick was No. 107, and Tulane’s Ewan Moore was No. 112. Tulane’s doubles tandem of Shick/Erlenbusch led The American with a No. 16 ranking, while Wichita State’s tandem of MariusFrosa/Murkel Dellien was No. 27. Tulane’s Hamish Stewart/Tim Ruetzel was No. 47, while Memphis’ Felix Rauch/Jan Palleres was No. 58.
 
ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 52 in the final fall ITA singles rankings. Tsveta Dimitrova of Houston was No. 82. Ana Roman Dominguez of USF was No. 97, while Martina Okalova of Tulsa was No. 122. Wichita State had the highest-ranked doubles tandem as the pairing of Fatima Bizhukova/Gabriela Porubin was ranked No. 23.
 
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 (2-2) was a 6-1 winner against Auburn in the Knights’ only action from last week. UCF swept all six singles matches to even its record, while the doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa improved to 3-0 at the No. 1 spot. UCF plays its home opener Wednesday against North Florida.
 
UConn (3-2) picked up its first win of the spring with a 6-1 decision against Siena last week. The Huskies were led by Yili Zheng, who was a straight-set winner at No. 1 singles and a 6-1 winner with Jonathan Edwards at No. 2 doubles. UConn takes to the road for a pair of matches against NCAA tournament teams from last year. The Huskies visit Army Friday and will face Buffalo at West Point Saturday.
 
ECU (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season as the Pirates fell 4-3 to Davidson. ECU took the doubles point and had singles wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 spots. Javier Renones earned a straight-set win at No. 6 singles and took a 7-6 victory alongside Wisse Jonker at No. 3 doubles. ECU hosts Hampton Friday and entertains Longwood Sunday.
 
Memphis (2-2) split the singles bracket against No. 25 Texas Tech, but saw the doubles point stand up as the difference in a 4-3 setback to the Red Raiders. Andrew Watson was a straight-set winner at No. 2 singles for Memphis’ third team point, but the Tigers dropped a pair of three-set decisions as Texas Tech rallied for the victory. Memphis heads to Ithaca, New York, this weekend to face Cornell and Penn State.
 
USF (2-4) split a pair of matches in Boston last week as the Bulls took a 4-1 victory against Boston College before dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to Harvard. Alberto Barroso-Campos won a pair of straight-set decisions at the No. 2 spot. The Bulls continue their travels with a Friday match at No. 16 TCU and a Sunday match at No. 9 Baylor.
 
SMU (3-4) won two matches in a Sunday doubleheader against UT Permiam Basin (7-0) and Midwestern State (4-0). Jan-Simon Vrbsky led the way with a pair of straight-set wins at No. 1 singles and two doubles wins at the No. 1 spot, alongside partner Tomas Vaise. SMU takes on Arkansas and TCU in home matches this week.
 
Temple (3-2) rolled to a 4-0 win against Villanova, but dropped a 7-0 decision at Penn State to close the week. The Owls visit Navy Saturday and George Washington Sunday.
 
Tulane (3-2) has moved up to No. 20 in the most recent Oracle/ITA poll. The Green Wave scored a 5-2 win against Tulsa and fell 4-3 to No. 11 Oklahoma State. Tyler Schick went 2-0 in singles play for the Green Wave last week, giving him a team-high 14 singles victories in the 2017-18 season. Tulane is off until a Feb. 18 match against Nicholls.
 
Tulsa (3-6) had a busy week against some of the nation’s top programs, but the Golden Hurricane dropped three matches last week. The Golden Hurricane fell 7-0 to No. 7 Texas A&M, dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 20 Tulane and fell 4-0 to Alabama. Tulsa continues its challenging schedule Friday with a home match against No. 18 Oklahoma.
 
Wichita State (1-4) fell 4-3 to Arkansas in the Shockers’ only dual match from last week. The Shockers took the doubles point, but took only two of the six singles contests, as Haru Inoue and Murkel Dellien claimed wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Wichita State is off until a Feb. 17 match against Middle Tennessee.
 

WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (4-1) picked up a pair of wins in a doubleheader against Troy (7-0) and North Florida (4-0). Ksenia Kuznetsova won both of her singles matches in straight sets and claimed two doubles wins as well. The Knights take to the road for the first time this week with dual matches at SMU and No. 16 Baylor.
 
Cincinnati (5-2) has won five of its last six matches after the Bearcats took wins against Miami (Ohio) (5-2) and Lipscomb (6-1). Freshman Alexia Coutino won two matches at No. 2 singles and went 2-0 in doubles play The Bearcats host Memphis Thursday in their only match of the week.
 
UConn (3-1) rolled to a 7-0 win against Maris in the Huskies’ only dual match from last week. Yelyzavetea Pletnyeva continued her solid start to the season with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles as well as a 6-0 victory at No. 1 doubles.  The Huskies head to Syracuse Friday before they head to West Point, New York, to face Stony Brook.
 
ECU (2-1) picked up is first two wins of the spring with a 7-0 victory against North Carolina Central and a 6-1 decision against Campbell. Celia Ruiz, who is ranked No. 52 in the ITA singles rankings, won both of her singles and doubles matches at the No. 1 position to lead the Pirates, who visit UNC Greensboro Friday and Charlotte Saturday.
 
Houston (5-0) remained unbeaten with a 7-0 win against Southern as the Cougars dropped only one set in their six singles victories. Tsveta Dimitrova, who is No. 82 in the ITA singles rankings, was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at the No. 1 spot and a 6-1 winner at No. 1 doubles with Tanaka Chakanyka. The Cougars head to Tucson, Arizona, this week to face Nevada and Arizona.
 
Memphis (3-2) found itself out to a 2-0 lead against No. 15 Mississippi, but the Rebels reeled off four straight singles wins to take a 4-2 victory against the Tigers. Freshman Laura Bente picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles against the No. 81-ranked player nationally. Memphis heads to Ohio this week for a Thursday match at Cincinnati and a Saturday visit to Miami (Ohio).
 
USF (1-4) picked up its first win of the spring with a 5-2 victory against Troy last week. Freshman Evelyne Tiron led the way with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles as the Bulls won the first three team points. USF is off until a Feb. 16 match at Texas.
 
SMU (2-2) earned a 5-0 win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and fell 5-2 to Iowa in the Mustangs’ two matches from last week. The Mustangs picked up singles wins at No. 5 and No. 6 against the Hawkeyes and took all four singles matches that went to completion against the Islanders. SMU hosts UCF Friday and will entertain Northwestern State Monday.
 
Temple (1-3) fell 6-0 to Princeton and dropped a 5-1 decision to George Washington in the Owls’ two matches from last week. Temple, which has battled a number of injuries in the early part of the spring, looks to snap a three-match slide with a Friday match at Richmond and a Saturday match at VCU.
 
Tulane (3-2) picked up its first road win of the season as the Green Wave topped UAB 4-1. Sade Atkinson was a three-set winner at No. 1 singles and joined Elena Muller for a 7-6 win at No. 1 doubles. Tulane will head to Columbia, Missouri, for a Saturday match against Missouri and a Sunday contest against South Dakota State.
 
Tulsa (7-2) picked up two wins last week as the Golden Hurricane edged previously unbeaten Louisville 4-3 before taking a 4-1 victory against Middle Tennessee. Martina Okalova was a winner in singles in both matches as she took a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory at the No. 3 spot against Louisville and moved up to the No. 2 spot against Middle Tennessee, where she was a 6-1, 6-2 winner. Tulsa is back in action Saturday at No. 16 Baylor.
 
Wichita State (5-2) went 2-1 in its three matches last week. The Shockers dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to North Carolina State, but bounced back with 4-0 victories against UT Arlington and UMKC to close the week. Junior Sandra Honigova led the way with a pair of straight-set wins, including a 6-4, 6-2 decision against the No. 61-ranked player nationally from NC State. Wichita State visits Arkansas Saturday and returns home for a Sunday match against Old Dominion.
 
 

This Week In The American

MEN
Wednesday, February 7	North Florida at UCF	6 p.m.
Friday, February 9	Arkansas at SMU	2 p.m.
	Hampton at ECU	2:30 p.m.
	Memphis at Cornell	3 p.m.
	UConn at Army	5 p.m.
	USF at TCU	6:30 p.m.
	Oklahoma at Tulsa	7 p.m.
Saturday, February 10	Temple at Navy	2 p.m.
	UConn vs. Buffalo (West Point, N.Y.)	3 p.m.
	Memphis vs. Penn State (Ithaca, N.Y.)	3 p.m.
Sunday, February 11	Longwood at ECU	Noon
	USF at Baylor	2 p.m.
	TCU at SMU	5:30 p.m.
WOMEN
Thursday, February 8	Memphis at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Friday, February 9	ECU at UNC Greensboro	1 p.m.
	Temple at Richmond	3:30 p.m.
	UConn at Syracuse	4 p.m.
	UCF at SMU	5 p.m.
Saturday, February 10	Memphis at Miami (Ohio)	10 a.m.
	ECU at Charlotte	Noon
	Tulane at Missouri	Noon
	Wichita State at Arkansas	Noon
	Houston vs. Nevada (Tucson, Ariz.)	2 p.m.
	Temple at VCU	2 p.m.
	Tulsa at Baylor	TBD
Sunday, February 11	Tulane vs. South Dakota State (Columbia, Mo.)	11 a.m.
	Old Dominion at Wichita State	11 a.m.
	UConn vs. Stony Brook (West Point, N.Y.)	Noon
	Temple at George Washington	Noon
	Houston at Arizona	1 p.m.
Monday, February 12	Northwestern State at SMU	4 p.m.

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Last Week’s Results

MEN
Wednesday, January 31	Texas A&M 7, Tulsa 0
Friday, February 2	Temple 4, Villanova 0
	Tulane 5, Tulsa 2
Saturday, February 3	Arkansas 4, Wichita State 3
	Davidson 4, ECU 3
	UConn 6, Siena 1
	Penn State 7, Temple 0
	Texas Tech 4, Memphis 3
Sunday, February 4	USF 4, Boston College 1
	SMU 7, UT Permian Basin 0
	UCF 6, Auburn 1
	Harvard 4, USF 3
	Alabama 4, Tulsa 0
	SMU 4, Midwestern State 0
	Oklahoma State 4, Tulane 3
WOMEN
Thursday, February 1	Princeton 7, Temple 0
	ECU 7, North Carolina Central 0
Friday, February 2	North Carolina State 4, Wichita State 3
	Cincinnati 6, Miami (Ohio) 1
Saturday, February 3	George Washington 5, Temple 1
	Houston 7, Southern 0
	ECU 5, Campbell 2
	USF 5, Troy 2
	Mississippi 4, Memphis 2
	Tulane 4, UAB 1
	Cincinnati 5 Lipscomb 2
	Tulsa 4, Louisville 3
	SMU 5, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 0
Sunday, February 4	UCF 7, Troy 0
	UConn 7, Marist 0
	Wichita State 4, UT Arlington 0
	Iowa 5, SMU 2
	Tulsa 4, Middle Tennessee 1
	Wichita State 4, UMKC 0
	UCF 4, North Florida 0