April 10, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis men's tennis team will wrap up the regular season on Sat., April 11 at 1 p.m., at the University of Memphis Tennis Courts against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Memphis comes into Saturday's match with a record of 13 wins and 10 losses, the program's best record under fifth-year head coach Paul Goebel. The dual will mark the final home match for the U of M's pair of seniors, Jorge Vazquez and Benedikt Fischer.

"It will be nice for our seniors to have one last match," Goebel said. "It will be our first competitive match against UAPB. We are looking to pick up some positive momentum heading into next week's conference tournament."

Vazquez and Fischer have both left a sizeable mark on the U of M tennis program over their time as members of Goebel's squad. Fischer, who transferred to Memphis from Tyler Junior College heading into his sophomore season has been Memphis' unquestioned leader this season on and off the tennis court. The native of Dusseldorf, Germany, graduated last following the 2008 season after only three years in college with a degree in international business. Fischer is now working on a second degree from the U of M in business finance. A 4.0 student, Fischer became the program's first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-American last season. He has also been a member of the Tiger Academic 30 over the past three years, as well as an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2007 and 2008. This season, the senior has nine singles wins to his name while playing at the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No.5 slots. In doubles, he has teamed with Jordan Smith to put up the team's best most doubles wins (15).

Vazquez, playing his first competitive season for Memphis after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer guidelines has been a staple in the ITA rankings this season. After starting the season ranked No. 102 in the nation on Jan. 6, Vazquez has maintained a ranking, peaking as high as No. 51 on Feb. 19, following wins over top-rated opponents from Rice, Illinois, Alabama and Mississippi State. His ranking of 51st is the second-highest of any Memphis tennis player in the history of the program. Vazquez is currently rated as the 86th-best singles player in the nation with a current record of 12-10. Off the court, Vazquez has maintained a 3.6 GPA in international business and is a nominee, along with Fischer, for the C-USA All-Academic team.

Memphis is coming off of a weekend in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where they picked up a win over Western Kentucky, but fell to Troy and South Alabama, as part of the Sun Belt Shooutout. Michael Gaerthoeffner, a sophomore from Rheine, Germany, had an impressive showing for the U of M, with three singles wins. Gaerthoeffner is 12-6 in singles this season, including a mark of 8-5 at the No. 6 position.

Following their match with UAPB, the Tigers will prepare for the C-USA tournament which will be held in Orlando, Fla., on the campus of UCF. Memphis currently has the sixth-best record of the program's in C-USA, in front of Southern Miss and UCF.