Complete WAC Release
DENVER - Lots of wins yield lots of awards.
Monday afternoon, in a release issued by the league office, it was announced that NM State men's tennis players Gijs Akkermans, Corey Clarke and Louis Menard got their hands on some conference accolades for their play through the month of September.
Akkermans and Clarke were cited as the WAC Men's Tennis Doubles Team of the Month for September while Menard was awarded the WAC Men's Tennis Singles Player of the Month for the month of September.
In doubles action, Akkermans and Clarke were nearly unbeatable throughout the month of September. NM State's duo generated a 10-2 record through their 12 matches in the month, seeing the most success at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains.
From Sept. 16-18, Akkermans and Clarke duked it out with some of the best doubles teams in the region in Colorado Springs, Colo., in the annual tournament hosted by Air Force. The Aggies' duo couldn't be stopped, though, going a perfect 5-0 in doubles action at the event to claim the doubles championship. Through their run to the title, Akkermans and Clarke never dropped more than four games in each of their five doubles matches.
In one-on-one action, Menard consistently went toe-to-toe with some of the best talent in the region and frequently came out on top. Through the Aggies' three events in September, Menard manufactured a singles record of 9-2. He picked up four more one-on-one victories than anyone else among the Aggies' ranks.
Menard began the month of September by claiming a singles title at the Aggie Invitational, going 4-0 through that three-day tournament with wins over two Abilene Christian players, a foe from Lamar and a challenger from Northern Arizona. After going 2-1 at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains, Menard made a major run at the ITA Mountain Regionals.
In the 107-man singles draw, Menard made it all the way to the quarterfinal round. As one of the last eight players standing, the Aggies' competitor gave it all he could against Denver's James Davis in a three-set battle, but came up just short of advancing. Through his run at the ITA Mountain Regional, Menard bested foes from Montana, Denver and Idaho.
Roughly 24 hours ago, Akkermans, Clarke and Menard closed out the fall portion of their schedule as the Aggies wrapped up their run at the Arizona Invitational at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz. The Aggies will now turn their attention to the championship portion of their 2021-22 campaign which is set to begin in January of 2022.
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