The University of Memphis men's tennis team (9-6 overall, 2-1Conference USA) climbed to No. 55 in the nation with threenon-conference wins in Memphis this past weekend.
The Tigers' No. 1 doubles team of senior Ben Stapp (Sydney,Australia) and junior Lee Taylor Walker (Jackson, Tenn.) also brokeback into the national rankings for the first time in four weeks atNo. 52. Stapp and Walker ranked as high as 12th in the nation atthe beginning of the spring dual season, but a three-match losingstreak on the Virginia spring break trip dropped them temporarilyfrom the rankings.
Stapp and Walker are the second-highest rated doubles team inConference USA. Only Tulane's team of Michael Kogan and VictorRomero ranked higher (No. 6). Louisville's Cody Conley and OctavianNicodim ranked 60th in this week's polls.
Stapp's recent singles streak is even more impressive with themost recent poll. Stapp downed Georgia State's Mathias Ormaza, 6-2,3-6, 6-4, Saturday, and Ormaza is currently the 82nd ranked singlesplayer in the country. The senior from Sydney, Australia, sharedC-USA Men's Tennis Player honors this week after going 2-1 lastweek, suffering his only singles loss to now No. 94 PabloMartinez.
The Tigers remain at home this weekend, hosting Tennessee Tech,Friday. That match is slated to begin at 3 p.m. Projectedthunderstorms and cool weather may push that match to The RacquetClub of Memphis.
The Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech are off to a 7-6 start forthe season and are 1-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference. TennesseeTech alum Aldrin Campos is in his second year at the helm of theprogram and guided the Golden Eagles to a 16-10 record in his firstseason.
