March 20, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State's Markus Dickhardt has been named Mountain West Conference men's tennis player of the week, the league announced Tuesday. The Aztec senior captured his second weekly award of the 2007 season and the fourth of his career.
Dickhardt, a three-year letterwinner, helped SDSU upset No. 75 Arizona for its third straight victory before falling to 11th-ranked North Carolina on Saturday. The Marburg, Germany, native completed the week with a perfect 2-0 singles record and went 1-1 in doubles action.
Against the nationally-ranked Wildcats, Dickhardt and his partner Juan Gomez were one of two SDSU duos to post 8-6 victories en route to winning the doubles point for the third consecutive match. In singles, the German made Claudio Christen his sixth straight victim as he dealt UA's top singles player a 6-3, 6-3 loss.
Later in the week against the 11th-ranked Tar Heels, Dickhardt-Gomez had their three-match winning streak snapped on a day where UNC claimed all three doubles matches. However in singles, Dickhardt notched SDSU's only team point to bring the Aztecs to within one of UNC, 2-1, early in the contest after he upset No. 40 Benjamin Carlotti in dominating fashion, 6-1, 6-2.
Dickhardt's win at the top of the order ran his winning streak to seven and improved his record to 5-1 at No. 1 singles and 2-1 over nationally ranked opposition. The victory also represented the highest ranked player he had beaten this season. Prior to the North Carolina match, Dickhardt had defeated No. 83 Alex Slovic of Washington on the road in three sets.
The Aztecs are back in action Wednesday, March 21, as they play host to Princeton at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., at 1:30 p.m. PDT.