May 3, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU sophomore
Andrei Mlendea claimed Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors the league office announced on Wednesday. For Mlendea, it is his second award of the season.
Hailing from Oradea, Romania, Mlendea finished his MWC tournament run with a win in singles and doubles to help the 32nd-ranked Horned Frogs win the 2006 championship. In the semifinals, he posted a victory over BYU's James Ludlow at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-2). In the championship vs. top-seeded San Diego State, Mlendea pushed the Frogs to an early lead by winning his doubles match as he teamed with sophomore Cosmin Cotet to defeat Stephan Timu and Anthony Gomez (8-3) at the No. 2 position.
The sophomore went 5-1 in conference play during the season while competing at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Mlendea grabbed his first MWC honors on March 28.
Mlendea's season is highlighted with victories over eighth-ranked Jerry Makowski 6-3, 7-6 (4) in TCU's 4-3 triumph versus then-No. 22 Texas A&M on March 22. He also ousted Baylor's fourth-ranked Lars Poerschke 6-4, 6-2 on March 7.
The Frogs finished the 2006 season with a record of 17-9 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The team will learn its first-round assignment on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (CDT) when the selection show airs live on ESPNEWS.
ESPNEWS is available on DirecTV channel 207 and can be found on DishNetwork station 142. An audio feed is accessible on the ESPNEWS stations on XM and Sirius satellite radio.
