Oct. 7, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- Holy Cross junior Matt Wierzel opened the 2009-10 season on fire, winning 15 of 16 matches and two individual titles en route to the Male Tennis Player of the Month Award.

Bucknell's Dumitrita, who is 11-2, was named the Female Tennis Player of the Month.

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Male Tennis Player of the Month

Matt Wierzel, Holy Cross Jr., Garden City, N.Y./Chaminade Wierzel bested every personal record in the first month of his third season at Holy Cross, all while jumping out to a 15-1 record. He is 11-1 in tournament play and 4-0 in duals. Wierzel already has bettered his 2008-09 win total by six. He won the individual championship titles at the Wheaton and Stonehill invitationals and advanced farther than any Holy Cross player in program history at the Connecticut Invitational, falling in the championship match. 

Female Tennis Player of the Month

Dumitrita Iepuras, Bucknell So., Chisinau, Moldova/Germantown Friends School Iepuras led the Bison in the first month of the 2009-10 season by amassing a team-best 11-2 record and a 3-3 doubles mark. She won the Flight-B Championship at the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 3-4. She has won five straight singles matches and nine of her last 10. Iepuras is the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Month

Jessica Ahn, Army Jr., Forest Hill, Md. Ahn reached the final match in each of her tournaments this fall, going 7-2 overall. She won three matches at the Quinnipiac Invitational before falling in the final of the B-Flight. She also won four straight matches at the Eastern Championships, but lost in the title match of the Third Flight.

James Murphy, Lafayette Sr., Simsbury, Conn. Murphy helped the Lafayette men's team to a 2-0 start winning all four of his matches. He was 2-0 at No. 3 and 4 singles, and 2-0 at No. 1 and 2 doubles. His performance helped the Leopards defeat Rider and Wagner by the same score, 7-0.

Patriot League Notes

Houghton Starts Strong For Army

Anne Houghton has started the 2009-10 season just the way she ended her last two collegiate campaigns. The strong start is just what she needs to continue her unprecedented run through the Patriot League. Houghton, as a junior, already has won three major Patriot League awards in two years. She became the first Patriot League women's tennis player to win major awards in back-to-back years. Houghton will look to become first Patriot League tennis player -- man or woman -- to win four major awards. If she accomplishes that, she'll have a chance to make it five since she was the first Patriot League player to win the Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year award in the same season (2008). She has a 5-1 singles records thus far in two tournaments this season. She now has 58 wins and is one away from moving into the top 10 in Army history. She had 28 wins last season for the Black Knights

Men's Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights, led by senior Johnny Lucero, have competed in three unscored invitationals thus far in the 2009 fall season. Lucero has posted five wins in singles and three in doubles. Army will travel to Hanover, N.H., for the ITA Regionals on Oct. 16-19 and then close out the fall season at the Cornell Invitational on Oct. 30-Nov. 1.

Bucknell The Bison competed in four unscored invitationals with freshman Josh Katten opening his career with an 8-4 singles record and a 5-2 doubles mark. The Bison competed at the Bloomsburg, Brown, UConn and Bucknell invitationals. They will compete again at the second Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 16-18 and close out the fall season at the ITA Regionals in Norfolk, Va., on Oct. 23-26. 

Colgate The Raiders competed in the unscored Cornell, Brown and Bucknell invitationals to open the fall schedule. Alec Goldstein led the Raiders at the Bucknell Invitational, going 4-0 in the Flight C draw. Colgate will complete its fall schedule with the ITA Regionals in New Hanover, N.H., on Oct. 14-16.

Holy Cross The Crusaders are 2-2 in the fall season with wins over Hartford (4-3) and Nichols (6-3). Holy Cross also placed second out of eight teams at the Stonehill Invitational on Oct. 4. The Crusaders, whose losses came to Coast Guard and Siena, competed in the non-scored Wheaton Invitational and Connecticut Invitational. Junior Matt Wierzel has led the Crusaders throughout the fall season, posting a 15-1 record (4-0 duals, 11-1 tournaments). Holy Cross will close out the fall season with home matches against Merrimack on Oct. 8 and Boston University on Oct. 16. Both matches are set for a 4 p.m. start. 

Lafayette The Leopards opened the season 2-0 with two 7-0 wins. Lafayette defeated Rider on Sept. 19 and Wagner on Sept. 25. James Murphy led the Leopards in the two wins, going 4-0 overall (2-0 in single and 2-0 in doubles). Lafayette will close out the fall schedule with the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 17-18.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks opened their season at the Cornell Fall Invitational on Sept. 11-13 with seven of their eight entrants picking up singles wins. Lehigh was led by sophomore Ryan Krueger, who won two singles matches. He also teamed with junior Arnaldo Pacheco to reach the doubles quarterfinals in Flight B. Lehigh will complete its fall schedule by hosting the Men's and Women's Team Tennis Challenge on Oct. 10-11 and hosting the Lehigh Fall Tennis Championships on Oct. 24-25. 

Navy The Midshipmen hosted the Navy Invite on Sept. 11-13. Navy will return to the court when it hosts the Navy Gold Invitational on Oct. 9-11. The Midshipmen also will travel to the ITA Regionals in Norfolk, Va., on Oct. 23-25 and the Cornell Invitational on Oct. 30-Nov. 1.

Women's Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights competed in three individual competitions with junior Jessica Ahn leading the way. Ahn is 7-2 in singles play and 1-1 in doubles, competing at the Quinnipiac Invitational, Stony Brook Invitational and the Eastern Championships. Army has four invitationals scheduled for the month of October beginning with the National Tennis Center Invitational on Oct. 10-12. Some members of the Black Knights will be there, while others will compete at the Lehigh Fall Championships on Oct. 10-11. Army will split up again from Oct. 23-25 to compete at the Brown Invitational and at the ITA Regionals in New Haven, Conn.

Bucknell The Bison competed in four unscored events to open the fall season with the reigning League Rookie of the Year getting off to a hot start. Dumitrita Iepuras is 11-2 in singles play and 3-3 in doubles for the Bison, who competed in the Bloomsburg Invitational, two separate Bucknell Invitationals and at the Eastern Championships. The Bison will close out the fall season with the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 16-18 and the ITA Regionals in Blacksburg, Va., on Oct. 22-24.

Colgate The Raiders competed at the Cornell and Army invitationals in September and at the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 2-4 to open to the 2009 season. Senior Elise DeRose led the Raiders in the three unscored events, finishing with a 3-2 singles record and a 2-2 doubles mark. Colgate will complete the fall schedule when it travels to the ITA Regionals in New Haven, Conn., on Oct. 23-25.

Holy Cross The The Crusaders are off to a 1-3 start and placed third out of seven teams in their most recent event, the Salve Regina Double Invitational on Oct. 4. Holy Cross defeated Hartford 5-2 on Sept. 22. The team's three losses came to Providence (6-1), Siena (5-2) and Massachusetts (7-0). The Crusaders will host Merrimack at 4 p.m. Oct. 8 for their final dual match of the fall season. They will close out the fall season at the New England Championship on Oct. 17-18.

Lafayette The Leopards were idle in the first month of the fall season. They will compete in their only event of the fall when they travel to the Bucknell Invitational on Oct. 17-18.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks opened their season at the Cornell Fall Invitational on Sept. 11-12 with Julie Arthofer and Liz Piscitelli each winning the first-round matches in the top singles flight. They were two of four Lehigh players to collect wins. Lehigh will complete its fall schedule by hosting the Men's and Women's Team Tennis Challenge on Oct. 10-11 and hosting the Lehigh Fall Tennis Championships on Oct. 24-25.

Navy The Midshipmen competed at the Stony Brook Invitational on Sept. 18-19 before hosting the Bill Moore Invitational on Sept. 25-27. Both were unscored events. Emani Decquir led the Midshipmen going 3-1 and reaching the final of the B-2 Flight at the Old Dominion Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 2-4. Navy will finish the fall season at the ITA Regionals in Blacksburg, Va., on Oct. 22-26.