Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Macon, Ga. -- Helping Stetson to their fourth straight victory, Serguei Boulanov won the decisive match that dealt No. 70 Utah their first loss of the season and has been named the Atlantic Sun's Player of the Week for his performance on the courts, league officials announced today.

Boulanov, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., upset Utah's Wes Hancock with a come-from-behind victory after losing the first set 7-5. He quickly composed himself and handed Hancock two straight losses (6-2, 6-3) to win the match and give the Hatters the team victory.

The award is the first of its kind for Boulanov and marks the second week in a row that a member of the Stetson men's tennis team has been honored as the A-Sun POTW.

The Atlantic Sun Player of the Week is announced every Tuesday during the 2007 tennis season.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.

Other Top Performers:

• Sebastian Serrano, ETSU
[Jr. -- Cartagena, Colombia-- Undecided]
Serrano won his No. 4 singles match by defeating Derek Stephens of No. 33 Tennessee 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

• Marc Sifre, Campbell
[Jr. -- Granollers, Spain -- Sport Management]
Sifre went 3-1 on the week, including a 2-0 mark at No. 1 singles for Campbell. He posted a 6-4, 6-1 win against Coastal's Simon Taylor and a 6-3, 6-0 win against Mount Olive's Guilherme Serra. Sifre also went 2-1 at No. 1 doubles.

• Evgeny Slesarev, Gardner-Webb
[Fr. -- Krasnoyarsk, Russia -- Undecided]
Slesarev went 1-1 in both doubles and singles. In singles he defeated USC-Upstate's Javier Tori (6-3, 6-3) and teamed with Gabe Veiga to earn a No. 1 doubles win against No. 20 Presbyterian College (Division II).