Complete WAC Release
DENVER - As a result of their performances in the 2021 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men's Tennis Tournament this past weekend, four members of the NM State men's tennis team earned spots on the All-WAC Tournament Team.
The league made that official in a release issued Thursday morning as Louis Menard and Martin Simecek found themselves placed on the All-WAC Tournament Team for singles action. Menard and Jordy Visser along with the duo of Corey Clarke and Simecek made up two of the three doubles pairing on the All-WAC Tournament Team.
Though his singles showdown with Seattle U's Eli Ogilvy went unfinished in the second-seeded Aggies' 4-0 win over the third-seeded Redhawks in the first of two WAC Tournament semifinals last Saturday afternoon, Menard made sure the Aggies had a chance to claim the WAC Tournament title Sunday afternoon. After falling behind at the conclusion of the first set against GCU's Valentin Lang in top-flight singles action, Menard made up for it and claimed a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph to tie the match at 3-3 which gave the Aggies a chance at victory. On the year, Menard finished with an 11-4 record in singles action and won his last four matches.
Like Menard, Simecek's singles match didn't factor into the Aggies' final 4-0 result against the Redhawks Friday afternoon. His solid one-on-one play allowed NM State to have a chance at the WAC Tournament title against GCU Sunday afternoon. Pitted against Justin Cvitanovic in third-flight action, Simecek captured a nearly-flawless 6-0, 6-1 win over the Lopes' third-flight competitor to put NM State up 2-0 in the league's tournament title tilt. Simecek ended his 2021 campaign with a 5-9 record in singles action and captured wins in his last three one-on-one bouts.
Playing together in flight two of doubles action, Clarke and Simecek were unstoppable through their two matches in the WAC Tournament. In the Aggies' semifinal battle with Seattle U, the NM State duo took down Emilio Monroy and Julian Worn by a 6-2 score. The following day, they defeated GCU's tandem of Cvitanovic and Mariano Argote by a 6-1 tally to help NM State win the doubles point against the Lopes. Those two wins allowed Clarke and Simecek improve to 7-6 in 2021 as a doubles pairing.
Menard and Visser joined forces to help NM State pick up the doubles point in both of its WAC Tournament matches. After seeing their top-line match with Ogilvy and Lucas Cerbelli go unfinished in the Aggies' 4-0 win over Seattle U in Saturday's semifinal showdown, the NM State pair secured a 6-1 triumph against GCU's pairing of Lang and Jiri Novak in the WAC Tournament championship match. That win helped the Aggies clinch the doubles point against the Loeps and pushed their 2021 doubles record to an impressive 5-1.
NM State's 2021 campaign culminated with the program's ninth-consecutive trip to the WAC Tournament championship match. The Aggies finished their latest season of competition with a 7-11 overall record as well as a 3-1 showing in WAC regular season matches. The Aggies finished the year as WAC regular season co-champions with GCU.
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