Feb. 25, 2011

WeeklyRelease

TULSA, Okla. - No. 38-ranked University of Tulsa men's tennis (7-3) is set for two home matches in a three-day span as it will play host to No. 47 TCU and unranked Wichita State. These will be the last home matches before TU hits the road for three and a half weeks. The matchup with the Horned Frogs is set for 11 a.m. Feb. 27 and there will be free pizza and drinks for all spectators in attendance. The tilt with the Shockers is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 1.

Both matches are tentatively scheduled to be played outdoors at Case Tennis Center. The Golden Hurricane has put together a solid 5-2 mark at home with victories coming over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Oral Roberts, Sacramento State, and Conference USA foes Memphis and UAB. The individual headliners for TU are junior Ashley Watling (No. 94), sophomores Marcelo Arevalo (No. 40) and Clifford Marsland (No. 114) and freshman Japie De Klerk (No. 117). All four members of the Golden Hurricane have posted winning records so far during the spring campaign, with De Klerk owning an unblemished 9-0 mark.

Tulsa is 5-0 against unranked foes this season, and the Golden Hurricane owns a 2-3 mark against teams inside the top 75 in the nation. TCU is currently 2-4 this year and is on a four-match losing streak. Cameron Nash and Christopher Price lead the Horned Frogs with 3-2 marks in singles action. Emanuel Brighiu and Price, the No. 48-ranked doubles pair in the nation, are 4-2 from No. 1 doubles, and Soren Goritzka and Slah Mbarek are 3-0 from No. 2 doubles.

Wichita State is 3-1 overall with matches upcoming against Oral Roberts (Feb. 25) and TCU (Feb. 28) before its tilt with the Golden Hurricane. Coach Vince Westbrook enters the weekend with an all-time record of 291-216 in his 20 years at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT
The University of Tulsa posted victories over UAB and No. 59 Arkansas. The Golden Hurricane took down the Blazers 6-1 and traveled to Fayetteville to hand the Razorbacks a 5-2 loss. All six ranked individuals picked up victories in TU's rout of Conference USA foe UAB at Case Tennis Center. Tulsa won all three doubles matches by identical 8-5 scores, and the home team picked up wins in five of six singles matches, with three of those wins coming in straight sets. Arkansas surrendered the the doubles point for just the first time in 2011 as TU won at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. The Golden Hurricane overpowered the Razorbacks in singles action with wins in four of six matches.

MARSLAND EARNS FIRST C-USA WEEKLY AWARD
Sophomore Clifford Marsland was named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Feb. 22. The Perth, Australia, native was a flawless 4-0 in matches played over a weekend that saw TU defeat C-USA foe UAB and No. 59 Arkansas. Marsland, the No. 114-ranked singles player in the nation, captured three-set thrillers from the third position against both Lucas Dirube of UAB (3-6, 6-2, 6-3) and Gregoire Lehmann of Arkansas (6-2, 2-6, 6-3). He is now on a four-match win streak in singles. He and junior teammate Ashley Watling, the No. 19-ranked duo in the NCAA, won both doubles matches from the top of the lineup by a combined score of 16-9.

AREVALO NAMED C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Marcelo Arevalo was named the C-USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Feb. 1. He cruised to a 4-0 performance during his week of dominance and downed the No. 32 singles player in the nation. Arevalo started his weekend by upsetting No. 32 Marcell Thiemann of Ole Miss with a 6-4, 6-3 decision. He followed with a 6-3, 6-4 downing of Haig Schneiderman of Columbia. Both victories came on the front court for TU. In doubles play, he found two more wins alongside freshman Japie De Klerk. The 2010 Freshman of the Year, Arevalo earned his first Athlete of the Week honor of the season and third of his career. He was also named the C-USA Men's Tennis Player of the Month in October.