April 2, 2003

The University of Memphis men's tennis team (10-6, 2-1 C-USA), ranked No. 65 in the country in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, will take on two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State in non-conference action at the HPER Courts on The University of Memphis, Wednesday. The Racers of Murray State are 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the OVC.

Memphis comes into Wednesday's match on a season-best five-match winning streak. The play of seniors Ben Stapp and Joe Schmulian as well as sophomore Alex Bucewicz and freshman Brendan Malarkey, has given Memphis a consistent scoring threat.

Bucewicz leads the team with a 13-3 singles mark, including a 12-1 record at No. 4 singles. Stapp is second on the squad with an 11-4 record, while Malarkey just became the third Tiger to hit the 10-win plateau with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of his opponent in the Tennessee Tech match last week. The freshman from Perth, Australia, is 10-6 in singles and has teamed with fellow freshman Alex Jago to post an 8-8 mark at No. 3 doubles.

After missing the entire fall schedule due to a foot injury, Schmulian appears to be back on track and is looking to become the next Tiger to the 10-win mark. The senior from South Africa is currently 9-6 overall and 6-3 at No. 2 singles.

Murray State comes into Wednesday's match looking to regain some momentum after splitting two OVC matches last weekend. The Racers downed Eastern Kentucky, 4-1, before falling to Tennessee Tech, 5-2. The Tigers had downed Tennessee Tech the day before, 6-1, on the HPER Courts.

The match is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. with play for the doubles point. It will be the final home match of a five-match home stand for the Tigers, who travel to New Orleans to face No. 74 University of New Orleans, Sunday. Admission to all U of M tennis matches is free.