Oct. 3, 2003

FORT WORTH, Texas

TCU senior Alex Menichini was named Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Month Friday for his performance in September. The nation's 47th-rated contender, Menichini posted a 3-1 record at the Baylor Intercollegiate last weekend. In his first match, he defeated Oscar Roman of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6-3, 6-4, and then ousted No. 99 and 12th-seeded Matija Zgaga of Baylor, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. For his quarterfinal match-up, Menichini upended Nick Goldberg of Brown, 6-2, 6-2. His run ended in the semifinals with a loss to the No. 1 player in the country, Baylor's Benedikt Dorsch, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

"This is a great achievement for Alex," said Head Coach Joey Rivé. "We're expecting big things from him this year, and I'm happy he was honored. Alex has been working hard and playing a lot of tennis, which has really elevated his level of play and the team's as well."

Menichini will see his next action in the main draw of the Icy Hot/ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 9 at the Champions Club. The Calabasas, Calif., native is already in the main draw of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's first national championship event on tap for 2003-04. He is the first Horned Frog since Esteban Carril to compete in the main draw.