University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
De Groot Named SBC Tennis Athlete Of The Week
3/20/2013 3:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Contact: Jeff Schneider
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Junior Rick de Groot was named the Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week after a solid 3-0 week in singles and a ranked doubles win, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
“Rick is on the right track,” head coach Mark Jeffrey said. “He has committed himself to being a full-time student-athlete. It is no surprise for Rick to earn this award, but he still needs to continue to get better. He has room for improvement in his game, and he's got a great upside if he continues to commit to improving everyday.”
A Pekala, Holland product, de Groot helped propel the Ragin' Cajuns to a 2-1 week including a 4-3 win over No.61 Samford. On the week, de Groot was perfect in singles play at the No.1 position seeing only one of his three matches reach a third set, while extending his win streak to four matches. The junior also was part of a doubles team that bested the 52nd ranked team in the country.
De Groot topped Silviu Mistreanu of Youngstown State in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, before defeating a regionally ranked player in Tulane's Idan Mark, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. He finished off the week with a strong 6-2, 6-0 victory over Samford's Zac Dunkle.
In doubles, de Groot and Jake Wynan overpowered the No. 52 doubles team of Dunkle and Garrison Laduca, 8-3. The pair also had a win over Rodrigo Rappaccioli and Alex Van Cott of Tulane, 8-4.
On the year, de Groot has a team-best record of 11-6 in singles and 11-4 in doubles. He is the first Ragin' Cajun to win SBC weekly honors since Yanick Mandl earned the accolades on March 14, 2012.
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