Tennis Weekly Release #11
April 3, 2007
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Horizon League Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week
James Low
Butler, Sr., Ottawa, Ontario
Low scored a pair of singles wins and a doubles victory last week against Toledo and DePaul. He notched a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles against the Rockets in helping the Bulldogs to a 4-3 victory over Toledo. He then scored the Bulldogs' only singles win against DePaul at No. 1 (6-2, 6-3) and teamed up with Ben Raynauld at No. 2 doubles an 8-1 win.
Horizon League Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week
Tanisha Welch
Youngstown St., Fr., Cleveland, Ohio
Welch was undefeated in singles and doubles in weekend action for the Penguins. She picked up YSU's only point against Duquesne at No. 4 singles on Wednesday, while also teaming with Kelly Culbertson for the win at No. 3 doubles. Welch's winning streak continued on Saturday and Sunday with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Wright State and a 6-2, 6-1 shut-out against Dayton. At doubles, Welch played again with Culbertson winning 8-7 on Saturday and 9-7 in Sunday's match.
Other Top Performances
Scott Kathary
Youngstown St., Jr., Dublin, Ohio
Kathary's 4-6, 6-3 (8) win at No. 1 singles gave YSU it's only point in the 6-1 loss to Wright State on Saturday evening. Kathary also joined teammate Maurice Rucker at No. 3 singles for the 8-4 win over Brian Butt and Michael Hall.
Brad Groleski
Cleveland St., Jr., Springboro, Ohio
Groleski picked up two straight-set victories at No. 1 singles last week to lead Cleveland State to wins over Walsh and Duquesne. The junior also teamed with senior Dan Singer for a perfect 2-0 mark at No. 2 doubles.
Sam Sweeney
UIC, Fr., Crystal Lake, Ill.
Sweeney won two of three singles matches this week, rallying to defeat Abilene Christian's Hutton Jones Jr. at No. 6 singles by a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 count before moving up to the fifth spot against Southern Illinois and clinching a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets victory over Nick Bauer. Sweeney now has nine singles wins on the year.
Callan Smith
UIC, Sr., Leawood, Kansas
Smith rebounded from a first-set loss to UW-Green Bay's Heather Harding to pick up a 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 win at No. 1 singles on April 1. The senior also won at No. 1 doubles with Grace Gill-Morlis to propel the Flames to a 3-0 League ledger.
Ali O'Neal
UW-Milwaukee, Fr., Stevens Point, Wis.
O'Neal tied a school record with her 16th win of the season in helping UWM to an impressive win over South Dakota State Saturday. O'Neal captured a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles and then teamed with fellow freshman Kari Kastenholz for an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles. O'Neal's 16 singles wins tied Elizabeth Angel for the most in a single season in school history, still with four dual matches and the league tournament to break the record.
Becky Jenkins
Butler, Fr., Elmhurst, Ill.
Jenkins provided the Bulldogs with a pair of singles wins against Evansville and DePaul. She scored Butler's only singles victory against the Purple Aces with a 6-5, 6-2 decision at No. 4 and tallied the deciding win at No. 4 singles against the Blue Demons, winning 6-0, 6-3. She also teamed up with Molly Casperson for a win at No. 2 doubles against Evansville.
Lauryn Grimando
UW-Green Bay, Fr., Oakbrook, Ill.
Grimando went 3-1 on the week, including two victories in singles action. She tallied the lone point for the Phoenix against Horizon League foe UIC with her win at No. 5 singles against Ulrikke von Ubisch.
News & Notes from Around the League
Despite picking up only one singles win, the Butler University women's tennis team pulled out a 4-3 win over DePaul last week. After claiming the doubles point and the No. 4 singles spot 6-0, 6-3, the Bulldogs were awarded victories at the bottom two singles spots by default. The victory pushed Butler's record to 6-11 on the season.
Both the Cleveland State University men's and women's teams look to pick up their second Horizon L:eague wins this weekend as they welcome UIC (women only) and Wright State to the Malaga Tennis Center. Freshman Ryan Hamning will aim for his 25th win of the season as the men battle Wright State on Saturday morning, while senior Sarah Galon seeks her 22nd and 23rd victories against UIC (April 6) and the Raiders (April 7).
After an idle week, the University of Detroit Mercy looks to get back on the winning track with five-straight League matches, beginning UW-Milwaukee on April 6. Last season, the Titans finished with two wins in regular season play, including one over the Panthers.
The University of Illinois at Chicago men open League play this weekend with a rematch of last year's championship as the Flames take on Butler on Saturday in Indianapolis. Five of the team's final seven matches will be against League foes, with non-League contests with Valparaiso and Chicago State. On the women's side, the Flames continued their dominance of Horizon League foes, stretching their record to a perfect 3-0 on the year.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women fell to UIC 6-1 last weekend, dropping their League record to 2-3 on the year. The Phoenix only plays two more matches before the end of the regular season, hosting Cleveland State and Youngstown State next weekend (April 14-15).
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team picked up its ninth victory last week, sweeping South Dakota State 7-0. The nine team wins are the most since the 1996-97 season when the Panthers totaled 11 victories. The triumph also marked the first sweep for UWM in over a year, last defeating SUNY-New Paltz 7-0 on March 23, 2006.
The Youngstown State University women's tennis team picked up the first two victories of the spring season last week, defeating Dayton in a 7-0 sweep and Wright State 6-1. The win over Wright State evens the Penguins' League record at 1-1. YSU will look to improve on that mark this weekend as it takes on defending League champion UIC.
The Valparaiso University women's team, idle since March 15, returns to the courts this weekend as they begin conference play in Las Vegas against Oral Roberts. The Crusaders carry a 30-match regular season conference winning streak dating back to 2003 into the match with the Golden Eagles. On the men's side, Valpo will take on IPFW on Tuesday and face future League foe Butler on Friday.
