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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Ranked On Regional Lists
June 18, 2002 | Men's Tennis
June 18, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has released the final regional rankings of the 2001-02 season, and the Bowling Green State University men's tennis team is well-represented. The Falcons are ranked on both the team and individual lists in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
As a team, the Falcons were ranked 14th in the Midwest Region, the highest-ever ranking for the program. Illinois led the regional rankings, followed by Notre Dame.
Individually, a pair of BGSU juniors were ranked on the singles lists. Geoff Hiscox, the MAC Player of the Year, ended the year ranked 26th in the Midwest Region. Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo, who joined Hiscox on the All-MAC First Team, was ranked 27th in the region.
"These rankings are definitely fair and well-deserved," said BGSU head coach Jay Harris. "This is the first time we have been ranked in the top-15 in the region as a team, and it is the first time we have had two singles players ranked at the same time.
"With these rankings, I feel like our program really received the respect we deserve."
Hiscox, a native of London, Ontario, became the first-ever Falcon to be named MAC Player of the Year. He had a 23-11 singles record and a doubles mark of 24-12 this season. In MAC regular-season play, he went undefeated in both singles and doubles.
Hiscox had an incredible run in the ITA All-American Championships in the fall, becoming the first Falcon ever to advance through the prequalifier and the qualifier to make the main draw. He ended the fall portion of the schedule ranked 70th in the nation in the ITA rankings.
Hiscox was named the MAC Player of the Week twice in 2001-02, most recently on April 23 after going a perfect 5-0 as the Falcons won three MAC matches to clinch the league regular-season title the previous week.
In doubles action, Hiscox teamed with sophomore Joel Carney for an 18-6 doubles mark this year. Their win total ties them for the ninth-most victories by a tandem in a season.
Hiscox had a total of 47 wins this season, tying him for seventh on the BGSU single-season list. In his Falcon career, Hiscox had 139 total wins to rank fifth in school history. He is seventh on the singles wins list, with 68, and has moved into third place with 71 doubles victories in his BGSU tenure.
Lopez-Acevedo, like Hiscox, was named MAC Player of the Week twice this season. A native of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, he had a singles mark of 25-11 this season, going 3-0 in the MAC and 2-0 in league tourney action. In doubles, his 21-10 record included an 11-4 mark with senior Vitek Wild. That duo went 3-1 in conference regular-season play.
Lopez-Acevedo has earned numerous honors this spring. On April 14, he was named BGSU's Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A few days later, he was named to the first team on the prestigious Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholars List. Lopez-Acevedo was the MAC's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week on March 19, and also was named to the Verizon Academic All-District At-Large Team.
Lopez-Acevedo's 25 singles victories this year tie him for the fourth-most in a season in school history, and his 46 combined wins place him 10th on that BGSU list. In his three-year Falcon career, he amassed 134 total wins, good for seventh all-time. He had 69 singles wins (T-sixth) and 65 doubles victories (T-ninth).
The Falcons posted an overall dual-match record of 19-11 this season, recording 19 victories for the second year in a row. The Brown and Orange went 5-0 in MAC play to win the third regular-season title, and the first-ever outright crown, in program history.
BGSU defeated Northern Illinois in the semifinal round of the MAC Championships, but lost a 4-3 decision to Ball State in the championship match. Harris was named 2002 MAC Coach of the Year. He has led BG to a 91-62 (.595) dual-match record in his six years, including a MAC mark of 26-10 (.722).
