Men’s Tennis: Mandl Captures Cajuns Third SBC Player of the Week Award

Contact: Jeff Schneider
 
LAFAYETTE, La. – Senior Yanick Mandl became the third Ragin’ Cajun men’s tennis player to be named Sun Belt Player of the Week in 2012, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
 
“Yanick has done a great job solidifying the middle of our lineup all year,” head coach Mark Jeffrey said. “This year we have played a tough schedule facing nine nationally ranked opponents, and Yanick has managed his game well on the national stage. Recently we have started to make some tweaks in Yanick’s game and it is already paying off.”
 
Mandl was superb for the 47th ranked Cajuns going 4-0 on the week to extend his win-streak to five matches. The senior gutted out a three set win over Dmitry Kozionov of Nicholls State to start the week. He then went on to win his next three matches in straight sets. 
 
“As long as Yanick stays committed to the tweaks we have made, he will see his game rise even further,” Jeffrey said. “I look for Yanick to get that much better over the last eight weeks of the season.”
 
The Thalwil, Switzerland native helped the Cajuns to their fourth victory over a ranked team this season, a 5-2 win over No. 69 Florida A&M in which he defeated Takura Happy 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) at the No. 3 singles position. With the four singles wins, Mandl improves to 8-4 on the season and has played a major part in the Cajuns first national ranking in the last five seasons.
 
Mandl also posted a 2-1 record in doubles play with teammate Brandon Farine. The duo blanked Sidharth Sivakumar and Palash Tiwari of Nicholls State 8-0 to open the week. After dropping a hard fought 9-7 decision to Takura Happy and Chidi Gabriel of Florida A&M, Mandl and Farine bounced back with an 8-5 win over Dalen Klassen and Billy Bishop of Marist.
 
“The great thing about Yanick is that he is not only excels on the court, but also in the classroom,” Jeffrey added. “Yanick has already graduated magna cum laude and is in graduate school. He is the complete package and epitomizes what a student-athlete should be.”
 
The Cajuns are slated to close out a five-match homestand on Friday at 2 p.m. against No.75 St. John’s. Live scoring will be available for the match at RaginCajuns.com.
 

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