Bulldog Netter Ambert Named SEC Player Of The Week
The junior's wins at Alabama were both very important in State's 4-3 upset of the 19th-ranked Crimson Tide. Ambert posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over UA's 82nd-ranked Maxim Belski and teamed with Rene-Charles Combette for an 8-3 doubles win over Alabama's duo of Belski and Geoff Hiscox.
At Auburn, the Toulouse, France, native registered a solid 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over 20th-ranked Tiger Rameez Junaid in his 100th career singles match.
An all-American last season and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Player to Watch as well, Ambert is now 73-27 (73.0%) in singles during his Bulldog career. He is 37-13 (74.0%) in dual match singles, 26-8 (76.5%) at the No. 1 position in the lineup. He is currently ranked 60th but was preseason No. 3 nationally in September. His ranking dropped due to him not playing the fall semester.
"As each match goes by, Romain is getting back to the level of play which he achieved last season," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "He is improving with every match and is definitely one of the best players in the country once again. We are proud of him for achieving this award for the second time during his career. He had a very good weekend."
Ambert is the fourth Bulldog to earn the SEC's weekly award since the league initiated it for the sport of tennis in 2000. His honor Monday marked the second time he has received the award (also did last spring), making him only the second Bulldog ever to claim it twice during a career. In addition to his two laurels, Combette (once in 2002), three-time, all-American Marco Baron (twice in 2001), and four-year star Jeremy Bayon (once in 2000) have also each earned the distinction.
Ambert and the Bulldogs will continue action this weekend with a pair of very important home matches against top 25 SEC foes at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. State will welcome 21st-ranked Vanderbilt this Friday, March 21st, at 2 p.m. before a battle with ninth-ranked Kentucky this Sunday, March 23rd, at 1 p.m.