June 13, 2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team had a player in the year-end national singles rankings for the second straight year, as senior Alex Bucewicz capped his Tiger career ranked No. 124 in the country in singles. Current assistant coach Lee Taylor Walker was the first-ever Tiger to finish the year in the national rankings last season, when he capped his playing career with a ranking of No. 95 last spring.

Bucewicz was a four-year letterwinner and a four-time member of the Conference USA Academic Honor Roll for the Tigers. He led the team in singles victories as a freshman and sophomore and tied with Walker for singles victories as a junior. In 2005, Bucewicz tied with James Spence with 13 singles victories, finishing with a career mark of 89-41 in singles and a 63-34 mark in doubles. Bucewicz was 6-9 at No. 1 for Memphis in the spring, and was 7-1 at No. 2. He teamed with fellow senior Marten Tamla at No. 2 doubles, posting a 9-7 record and was named the M-Club Male Student-Athlete of the Year in April. A five-time C-USA Player of the Week honoree, Bucewicz graduated with a degree in Exercise Science and is planning on attending graduate school.

Memphis capped the year the No. 73 ranked team in the country following a 12-11 season. With the new conference alignment in place for next season, the Tigers will lose two ranked opponents (No. 33 Louisville, No. 49 TCU), but will gain three more ranked opponents (No. 38 Rice, No. 43 SMU and No. 48 Tulsa) in addition to No. 20 Tulane and No. 73 Memphis.

The Tigers lose five letterwinners for the 2005-06 season, and return rising seniors James Spence and Alex Jago and rising junior Garrison Pilant. Pilant will also be joined in the junior class by Sam Withell, who is expected to rejoin the team following back surgery in his native Australia. Sophomore Bryan Bankester will round of the five returnees for Head Coach Paul Goebel in 2005-06.

Also announced Monday was that the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championships will be hosted April 20-23, 2006 in Tulsa, Okla. Memphis will again host the ITA Southeast Regional at The Racquet Club of Memphis, Oct. 13-16, 2005.