April 29, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas
Five student-athletes from the 16th-rated TCU men's tennis team (16-6) earned postseason honors from Conference USA, the league office announced Thursday. It marks the most accolades TCU has received from C-USA and tied a school record for the most Horned Frogs recognized in one season from a conference in men's tennis. The 1996, 2000 and 2001 squads were the other teams to see five Frogs snag postseason honors. The 1996 and 2001 teams went on to reach the NCAA National Semifinals and the 2000 Frogs made an appearance in the quarterfinals.
Senior Alex Menichini led the way for TCU by landing on the C-USA First Team for the second season in a row. The Calabasas, Calif., native is 14-13 this year and owns a 6-10 mark at No. 1 singles. He has posted five victories against ranked players and is 7-10 overall in dual matches. Menichini was responsible for the deciding point in the Frogs' 4-3 upset of then-No. 9 Texas A&M in February when he upset Lester Cook, who was rated 17th at the time. Menichini has been among the singles ratings all season and currently holds the No. 42 spot.
Senior Hector Almada (Hermosillo, Mexico) and junior Fabrizio Sestini (Rome, Italy) each picked up C-USA Second Team praise. Almada, who transferred to TCU this spring after spending the previous two years at Fresno State, is 12-5 for the Frogs in dual matches. He has gone 5-3 at two singles and is 7-1 at the No. 3 slot. Sestini has posted a 20-8 record overall and is 14-4 in dual match play. He and Rafael Abreu (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) are 20-14 in doubles and are currently ranked 27th in the nation. Sestini was named C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2002 and has been named second-team all-conference three years in a row.
Sophomore Jacopo Tezza, who leads the Purple and White in victories this season thanks to a 25-9 record, was tabbed third-team all-conference by C-USA. It was his first postseason award with TCU. Tezza, a native of Verona, Italy, owns a 15-3 slate at No. 4 singles and is 15-4 in duals overall. He has gone 13-6 in dual doubles matches with Almada and is 12-4 at the No. 2 hole.
Almada was also named Co-Singles Player of the Championship for his performance during TCU's run to the title match of the C-USA Championship in Memphis. He clinched both of the Frogs' victories against Southern Miss and Louisville to pit them against Tulane for the conference trophy. Jacobo Hernandez from the Green Wave shared the award with Almada.
Menichini and Jacob Martin (Barcelona, Spain) were named the Doubles Team of the Championship after going 3-0 during the tournament at No. 3 doubles. They won by counts of 8-1, 8-4 and 8-3 versus Southern Miss, Louisville and Tulane. Menichini and Martin are 17-3 in duals at three doubles and 18-3 overall.
The Frogs are waiting to see their fate in the NCAA Championships selection show, which airs Wednesday, May 5, at 3:45 p.m. CDT on ESPNews. Sites for the first- and second-rounds, which take place from May 14-16, will also be announced at that time. The University of Tulsa is hosting the final four rounds of the team championship May 22-25 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The singles and doubles participants for the individual championships will be released Thursday, May 6, by 5 p.m. CDT, however, the draw will not be determined until Tuesday, May 25, following the team championship match. The singles and doubles tournaments take place over May 26-31 at the Case Tennis Center. TCU has competed in NCAAs as a team the past 13 years in a row.
2004 C-USA MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Uli Kiendl (USF)
Michael Kogan (Tulane)
Dmitriy Koch (Tulane)
Matt Mayer (Louisville)
Alex Menichini (TCU)
Lee Taylor Walker (Memphis)
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Hector Almada (TCU)
Fredy Barton (USF)
David Canudas (Southern Miss)
Ikaika Jobe (Saint Louis)
Tobi Klein (UAB)
Fabrizio Sestini (TCU)
THIRD TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Arturo Aguirre (Charlotte)
Raj Gill (Marquette)
David Goulet (Tulane)
Jacobo Hernandez (Tulane)
Mark Henderson (DePaul)
Damar Johnson (Louisville)
Jacopo Tezza (TCU)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael Kogan (Tulane)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
David Goulet (Tulane)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Robert Klein (Tulane)
CO-SINGLES PLAYERS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Hector Almada (TCU)
Jacobo Hernandez (Tulane)
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Alex Menichini and Jacob Martin (TCU)
