2008 Woodie Awards
Men's tennis fairs well at ITA Regionals
Joel Kusnierz earns national ranking with results
Stefanie Ordoveza
Issue date: 10/24/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The Saint Mary's men's tennis team competed in the ITA Northwest Regionals at Stanford University this past weekend. The tournament took place over a course of four days, beginning last Friday and ending yesterday.
Saint Mary's results were highlighted by junior transfer Joel Kusnierz, sophomore Achim Christner, and fifth-year senior Adam Fauvre.
Kusnierz comes to Saint Mary's from Auburn University Montgomery and has proven to be one of the team's top players, as he has continued to lead the Gaels in his efforts.
Kusnierz competed his way into the quarterfinal round, tallying wins over Hawaii's Spencer Mendoza in the first round, California's Geoff Chizever in the second, #9 Stanford's Blake Muller in the third, and #8 University of Washington's Daniel Chu in the fourth.
Kusnierz's results not only have brought him recognition amongst the collegiate community, but also a national ranking.
"[This] was the first time we had a men's singles player make it to the quarterfinals in the main draw at Regionals," said head coach Michael Wayman.
Fellow teammate Christner went on to say, "Overall, we did pretty well, but Joel was the outstanding player."
Christner, nonetheless, played a tough tournament as well. Though losing in the second round, Christner put up a real fight in both his first and second round matches.
Christner first defeated Cal Poly's Russell Meyerowitz 6-0, 6-2. He then lost to the second seed of the tournament, California's Pierre Mouillon (who as of Sunday, advanced to the semifinal round) in a very close match, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
After his match, Christner said, "I think it was helpful to see what we were doing well and what we need to work on. It was good to see where we are compared to the big schools and we're pretty close."
Increasing evidence of this closing gap was Fauvre's match against Stanford's Paul Morrissey. After hours of competitive play, Fauvre ultimately lost in a hard-fought three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Overall, Coach Wayman was pleased with his team's performance. "The tournament went very, very well. It was a good tournament for us, and I think that it's really a [sign] of things to come."
The men's tennis team will now be preparing for their next tournament, the University of Pacific (UOP) Invitational, which is expected to take place on November 3-5 in Stockton, CA. This will be the last of the fall tournaments before the team enters their actual season on January 21.
Saint Mary's results were highlighted by junior transfer Joel Kusnierz, sophomore Achim Christner, and fifth-year senior Adam Fauvre.
Kusnierz comes to Saint Mary's from Auburn University Montgomery and has proven to be one of the team's top players, as he has continued to lead the Gaels in his efforts.
Kusnierz competed his way into the quarterfinal round, tallying wins over Hawaii's Spencer Mendoza in the first round, California's Geoff Chizever in the second, #9 Stanford's Blake Muller in the third, and #8 University of Washington's Daniel Chu in the fourth.
Kusnierz's results not only have brought him recognition amongst the collegiate community, but also a national ranking.
"[This] was the first time we had a men's singles player make it to the quarterfinals in the main draw at Regionals," said head coach Michael Wayman.
Fellow teammate Christner went on to say, "Overall, we did pretty well, but Joel was the outstanding player."
Christner, nonetheless, played a tough tournament as well. Though losing in the second round, Christner put up a real fight in both his first and second round matches.
Christner first defeated Cal Poly's Russell Meyerowitz 6-0, 6-2. He then lost to the second seed of the tournament, California's Pierre Mouillon (who as of Sunday, advanced to the semifinal round) in a very close match, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
After his match, Christner said, "I think it was helpful to see what we were doing well and what we need to work on. It was good to see where we are compared to the big schools and we're pretty close."
Increasing evidence of this closing gap was Fauvre's match against Stanford's Paul Morrissey. After hours of competitive play, Fauvre ultimately lost in a hard-fought three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Overall, Coach Wayman was pleased with his team's performance. "The tournament went very, very well. It was a good tournament for us, and I think that it's really a [sign] of things to come."
The men's tennis team will now be preparing for their next tournament, the University of Pacific (UOP) Invitational, which is expected to take place on November 3-5 in Stockton, CA. This will be the last of the fall tournaments before the team enters their actual season on January 21.