Mears Does it Again

COLORADO SPRINGS -- Mountain West Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week recognition went to BYU senior Cassidy Mears for the fourth time this season. Wyoming junior Kim van Ginkel was named MWC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week.

The lone senior becomes only the fourth player in MWC history to receive the award four times in a single season. His four citations also lead BYU for the most career honors and rank in the top 10 among all MWC players.

Mears, a product of Shawnee, Kan., went a combined 2-0 on Saturday to help lead the 33rd-ranked Cougars to a 6-1 victory over Utah in the Conference regular-season finale in Salt Lake City, Utah. Against the Utes, Mears clinched the match for BYU, rallying back from a first-set deficit to defeat Benito Suriano (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) at No. 4 singles. Earlier in the dual, he teamed with junior Thomas Shubert to clinch the doubles point in the Cougars’ favor with an 8-6 win over Phillip Eilers and Alex Golding at the No. 1 position. With the victory, BYU finished the regular season undefeated in Conference play, secured the outright MWC regular-season title and locked up the No. 1 seed in this week’s Mountain West men’s tennis tournament. This is Mears’ third weekly honor of the season.

Van Ginkel, who hails from Barneveld, Netherlands, went a combined 3-1 over the weekend to help Wyoming to a 2-0 record against Colorado State (W, 6-1) and Air Force (W, 5-2). Against the Rams, the junior bounced back from an 8-3 loss alongside freshman Simona Synkova to CSU’s tandem of Laura Neal/Caitlin Fluegge (8-3) at the top of the doubles lineup by defeating Lauren Mulhern (6-0, 6-1) in straight sets at No. 5 singles. On Saturday against the Falcons, she notched a three-set win over Christine Molina (6-2, 4-6, 6-3) at the No. 4 singles spot, after teaming with Synknova to down the tandem of Christen Monreal/Hannah Dake (8-6) at the No. 1 doubles position.