Feb. 22, 2012

CLEVELAND, Ohio - As announced by the Mid-American Conference office Wednesday afternoon, sophomore Axel Lagerlof was named the MAC's Men's Tennis Player of the Week, following his 4-0 performance in No. 1 singles and doubles versus Valparaiso and IUPUI. It is the first career player of the week honor for the native of Malmo, Sweden.

In the Huskies doubleheader Feb. 17, Lagerlof was flawless in singles and doubles. With partner Dor Amir at No. 1 doubles, the duo cruised to an 8-4 victory against Valparaiso's Chris Baum and Adam Whitmer and an 8-5 triumph over Luke Bielawski and Patrick O'Neill from IUPUI. In singles, the 2011 MAC Newcomer of the Year won both of his matches in straight sets, defeating Baum, 6-4, 6-3 and the Jaguars Nick Volz, 6-0, 6-3.

The wins raised his spring season win total to 6-2 in singles and 5-3 in doubles. The only blemishes on Lagerlof's singles record have come at the hands of opponents on nationally ranked teams (No. 27 Indiana and No. 73 Drake). Maksym Bartiuk was the last Huskie to earn player of the week distinction (Feb. 23, 2011).

Lagerlof and the rest of the Huskies will return to action Saturday at Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford for matches against Dayton and Western Illinois. The contests are slated to begin at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.