PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced its weekly tennis honors for the week-ending March 26.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Constantin Schmitz • Sr. • Tulane • Remagen, Germany
Schmitz went 2-0 at No. 1 singles and won his only doubles match that was played to completion as Tulane took a 7-0 win against LSU and dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 11 TCU. He rolled to a straight-set win in the victory against the Tigers and scored a 6-2, 7-5 win against TCU’s top player, who was ranked No. 11 nationally. Schmitz, who has won his last six matches, improved to 13-4 in dual matches and has registered nine wins against ranked opponents since the start of the 2017-18 season.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Martha Matoula • Jr. • Tulsa • Thessaloniki, Greece
Matoula went 2-0 in both singles and doubles play to lead Tulsa to two wins against American Athletic Conference counterparts. She was a 6-4, 6-1 winner at No. 3 singles in the Golden Hurricane’s 4-0 win against SMU and was a 6-3, 6-2 winner at No. 4 in a 4-0 victory against Tulane. Matoula earned wins at No. 1 doubles in both matches alongside partner Ksenia Laskutova, giving the duo an 11-3 dual match record this season.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
Memphis' men's team has moved up to No. 16 in the March 27 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. The Tigers had been ranked No. 22 in last week's poll. Tulane stands at No. 31 and UCF is No. 36.
The American has three women’s teams in the March 27 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings as UCF has moved up to No. 21, Tulsa is No. 27 and Wichita State is No. 35.
Tulane’s Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 19 in the March 20 Oracle/ITA Rankings. Memphis’ Ryan Peniston is No. 36, USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos is No. 72, Tulsa’s Joshua Goodger is No. 81, Memphis’ Andrew Watson is No. 91, Tulane’s Ewan Moore is No. 92 and Tulsa’s Majed Kilani is No. 118. UCF’s doubles tandem of Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa is ranked No. 7 and USF’s Alberto Barroso-Campos/Grayson Goldin is No. 41.
ECU’s Celia Ruiz was ranked No. 59 in the March 20 ITA singles rankings. Fatima Bizhukova of Wichita State is No. 68, Ksenia Laskutova of Tulsa is No. 75, Tsveta Dimitrova of Houston is No. 91, Martina Okalova of Tulsa is No. 109 and Rebeka Stolmar of UCF is No. 92. In doubles, Houston’s tandem of Tsveta Dimitrova/Sveva Mazzari is No. 69.
The American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held in April 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 (9-6) has won its last five matches, a stretch that includes four wins against nationally ranked opponents after the Knights topped No. 38 Arkansas and No. 46 Princeton last week. The Knights are ranked No. 36 in this week’s Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. UCF will go for its sixth straight win Friday with a home match against No. 18 Oklahoma State.
UConn (4-10) saw last week’s scheduled contest at Marist postponed to April 7 The Huskies will be in action Saturday at Temple in their only match of this week.
ECU’s (18-3) winning streak has reached 10 matches after the Pirates scored a 4-1 win against UNC Greensboro and and 4-1 victory against Georgia Southern last week. Vlad Anghel has provided 12 singles wins, playing primarily at the No. 1 position, while Wisse Jonker has been solid at the other end of the ladder with a 14-2 mark, primarily at No. 5. ECU will host William & Mary Sunday in its only match of the week.
Memphis (13-4) continues to climb in the national rankings as the Tigers enter this week ranked No. 16 in the Oracle/ITA list. The Tigers scored a 4-3 win against No. 28 Dartmouth and a 5-2 victory against LSU last week to extend their winning streak to eight matches. Memphis will host Jackson State Saturday in a doubleheader.
USF (6-11) fell to No. 46 Princeton in the Bulls’ only match from last week. Alberto Barroso-Campos remains a stalwart at the lineup for the Bulls, thanks to his 10-4 dual match record, including a 7-1 mark at No. 1 singles. USF hosts South Alabama Tuesday, takes on SMU Friday and hosts Florida Atlantic Saturday.
SMU (7-12) looks to snap a four-match slide after the Mustangs fell 4-2 to UTSA last week. SMU faces a pair of its American Athletic Conference brethren this week with a Tuesday match against No. 31 Tulane in Dallas and a Friday trip to Tampa, Florida, to face USF.
Temple (9-6) split a pair of matches against in-state opponents last week as the Owls scored a 4-2 win at Lehigh, but dropped a 6-1 decision to Penn. Temple will make the short road trip to Drexel Thursday before the Owls host UConn Saturday.
Tulane (11-6) is ranked No. 31 in this week’s national rankings after the Green Wave split a pair of matches last week. The Green Wave topped LSU 7-0 before falling 6-1 to No. 11 TCU. Constantin Schmitz is ranked No. 19 in the most recent Oracle/ITA singles rankings – the highest of any American Athletic Conference player. Tulane plays its next two matches in the state of Texas with a Tuesday trip to SMU and a Thursday visit to Austin to face No. 15 Texas.
Tulsa (10-14) dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents last week as the Golden Hurricane fell 4-0 to No. 24 Baylor in its second match against the Bears in five days. Tulsa then fell 7-0 to then-No. 12 Texas to close the week. Tulsa is off this week and faces No. 36 UCF April 6 in its next contest.
Wichita State (12-8) had a busy week with five matches and the Shockers came away with wins in all five, including a 3-0 showing at the Texas Tamale Company Rice Invite. Wichita State began the week with a 4-3 win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and a 4-0 victory against UTSA in San Antonio before moving on to Houston to win a rematch against Corpus Christi as well as victories against Rice and VCU. Wichita State visits Denver Friday in its only match of the week.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (13-2) has won its last five matches after the Knights took a 4-3 win against Clemson and a 5-2 victory against Yale last week. The Knights are No. 21 in the March 27 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings and are the highest-ranked of the three ranked team from The American. UCF hosts Brown Tuesday and entertains Florida International Friday.
Cincinnati (8-8) dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Western Kentucky in the Bearcats’ only match from last week. Cincinnati claimed the doubles point, but saw the Hilltoppers take four of the six singles matches to hand the Bearcats a second straight loss. Cincinnati is back in action Wednesday against Xavier.
UConn (9-7) fell 6-1 to Boston College in the its only match from last week as the Huskies’ four-match winning streak came to an end. UConn is off until an April 6 match against Memphis in Storrs.
ECU (12-6) picked up a pair of wins last week as the Pirates rolled to a 4-0 win against Richmond and took a 4-2 victory against Charlotte. Celia Ruiz, who is No. 59 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, remains atop The American’s list of nationally ranked players thanks to her 11-3 record at No. 1 singles. ECU heads to Texas this week for road matches against Houston and SMU.
Houston (16-2) has won eight of its last nine matches after the Cougars scored a 4-0 win against Louisiana Tech in their only match from last week. Sveva Mazzari remains unbeaten in the spring as she takes a 16-0 dual match record into Friday’s contest against ECU.
Memphis (11-7) has won its last three matches after the Tigers claimed a 4-1 win against Middle Tennessee in their only match of last week. Memphis claimed the doubles point and won at the No. 3 through No. 6 spots on the singles ladder to get the win. The Tigers head to Denton, Texas, Saturday to face North Texas.
USF (11-7) extended its winning streak to nine matches after the Bulls took a 4-3 win against Florida Gulf Coast and a 6-1 victory against Brown last week. Nicole Dzenga has a 12-4 record, playing primarily at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, while Vanja Klaric is 12-5 this season, primarily at the No. 4 spot. The Bulls are off until an April 4 matchup against No. 25 UCF in Tampa.
SMU (7-8) split a pair of matches against American Athletic Conference counterparts last week as the Mustangs fell 4-0 to No. 23 Tulsa, but bounced back to take a 4-2 win at Tulane. The Mustangs will play their third straight against an American Athletic Conference opponent Saturday when they host ECU.
Temple (6-6) came away with a 7-0 win against Lehigh in the Owls’ only match from last week. Temple won five of the six singles matches in straight sets and took two of the three doubles matches to even its record. The Owls are back in action Thursday with a short road trip to Drexel.
Tulane (8-10) fell 4-0 to No. 23 Tulsa and 4-2 to SMU in its two matches from last week. The Green Wave looks to snap a three-match slide with three contests this week. Tulane will host Louisiana Monroe Friday and will have Saturday matches against Southern Miss and Southern.
Tulsa (16-3) is ranked No. 27 in this week's Oracle/ITA rankings after the Golden Hurricane scored 4-0 wins against SMU and Tulane last week. The Golden Hurricane has won its last four matches heading into a Wednesday contest against No. 17 Texas Tech in Dallas. Ksenia Laskutova, who is ranked No. 75 nationally, leads the Golden Hurricane with a 13-3 singles record, playing all but one match at the No. 1 position.
Wichita State (14-5) was a 5-2 winner against Iowa in the Shockers’ only match of last week. Wichita State is No. 35 in this week’s Oracle/ITA Collegiate Rankings. The Shockers face a pair of nationally ranked opponents this week with a Friday trip to No. 13 Oklahoma State and a Sunday visit to No. 44 Oklahoma.
This Week In The American
| MEN |
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| Tuesday, March 27 |
South Alabama at USF |
1:30 p.m. |
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Tulane at SMU |
6 p.m. |
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| Thursday, March 29 |
Temple at Drexel |
1 p.m. |
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Tulane at Texas |
7 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 30 |
Jackson State at Memphis |
Noon |
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SMU at USF |
1:30 p.m. |
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Wichita State at Denver |
2 p.m. |
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Oklahoma State at UCF |
7 p.m. |
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| Saturday, March 31 |
UConn at Temple |
Noon |
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William & Mary at ECU |
Noon |
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Florida Atlantic at USF |
1:30 p.m. |
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| WOMEN |
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| Tuesday, March 27 |
Brown at UCF |
1 p.m. |
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| Wednesday, March 28 |
Xavier at Cincinnati |
1 p.m. |
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Tulsa vs. Texas Tech (Dallas, Texas) |
11 a.m. |
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| Thursday, March 29 |
Temple at Drexel |
1 p.m. |
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| Friday, March 30 |
ECU at Houston |
1 p.m. |
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Louisiana Monroe at Tulane |
2 p.m. |
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Wichita State at Oklahoma State |
4 p.m. |
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Florida International at UCF |
5 p.m. |
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| Saturday, March 31 |
ECU at SMU |
11 a.m. |
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Memphis at North Texas |
Noon |
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Southern Miss at Tulane |
1 p.m. |
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Southern at Tulane |
4 p.m. |
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| Sunday, April 1 |
Wichita State at Oklahoma |
1 p.m. |
all times Eastern
Last Week’s Results
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| Wednesday, March 21 |
Princeton 4, USF 3 |
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ECU 4, UNC Greensboro 1 |
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Wichita State 4, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3 |
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Tulane 7, LSU 0 |
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UCF 5, Arkansas 2 |
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| Tuesday, March 22 |
Memphis 4, Dartmouth 3 |
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Wichita State 4, UTSA 0 |
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| Friday, March 23 |
UCF 6, Princeton 1 |
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Baylor 4, Tulsa 0 |
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| Saturday, March 24 |
ECU 4, Georgia Southern 1 |
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Temple 4, Lehigh 2 |
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UTSA 4, SMU 2 |
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Wichita State 4, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 0 |
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Wichita State 4, Rice 3 |
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| Sunday, March 25 |
Penn 6, Temple 1 |
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TCU 6, Tulane 1 |
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Memphis 5, LSU 2 |
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Texas 7, Tulsa 0 |
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Wichita State 4, VCU 0 |
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| WOMEN |
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| Wednesday, March 21 |
UCF 4, Clemson 3 |
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| Thursday, March 22 |
UCF 5, Yale 2 |
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| Friday, March 23 |
Memphis 4, Middle Tennessee 1 |
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Wichita State 5, Iowa 2 |
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Tulsa 4, SMU 0 |
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Richmond 4, ECU 0 |
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Western Kentucky 4, Cincinnati 3 |
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| Saturday, March 24 |
Temple 7, Lehigh 0 |
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USF 4, Florida Gulf Coast 3 |
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Tulsa 4, Tulane 0 |
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ECU 4, Charlotte 2 |
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Houston 4, Louisiana Tech 0 |
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| Sunday, March 25 |
USF 6, Brown 1 |
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Tulane 4, SMU 2 |
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Boston College 6, UConn 1 |
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| Monday, March 26 |
ECU 4, Charlotte 2 |