CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Junior
Kyohei Yamanaka from the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis program has been distinguished as the Southland Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
Yamanaka guided the Islanders at the top of the lineup in their conference-opening victory over Abilene Christian. In a rematch of the finals of the 2019 SLC Championships, A&M-Corpus Christi took down the Wildcats 6-1.
Individually, Yamanaka helped clinch the doubles point with a 6-2 win at the No. 2 position with freshman
Ryuya Ata. In singles, Yamanaka cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory at the No. 1 spot over Savan Chhabra.
"Kyohei represents the values of Islanders tennis so much! He really validates that character, dedication to your team and extreme hard work pay off! Kyohei is so loved and respected by this team and does all the things you appreciate as a coach! He just cares so much and works so hard! We talk a lot about three types of teammates - rocks, jellybeans and marshmallows. Kyohei is a rock! You can always count on Kyohei to come to practice motivated, encourage everyone, work extremely hard, and compete like a tiger! He is a really special young man," said head coach
Steve Moore.
Yamanaka becomes the fifth different tennis student-athlete to win SLC Player of the Week this year along with sophomore Camille Townsend (March 2), freshman
Nathan Schwartz (Feb. 2), sophomore Mariya Shumeika (Feb. 2) and freshman
Carlos Berna Ruiz (Jan. 26).
Yamanaka and the men will be off from competition this weekend before returning to the court on Saturday, April 10 at New Orleans. The women will be in action Thursday in a neutral site match against Central Arkansas in Tyler, Texas. The next home match is 12 p.m. Saturday when the women host Lamar.
A&M-Corpus Christi Tennis
- 11 NCAA Tournaments
- 25 SLC Championships
- 4 Top-40 National Rankings
- 3.0 GPA 31 Straight Semesters
- Islanders have received a No. 3 seed at the NCAA Tournament three times
- Women's tennis has cracked the ITA top-75 national rankings three times
- Men's tennis has cracked the ITA national rankings 10 consecutive years
- Ranked nationally in NCAA DI as high as No. 35 for the men and No. 60 for the women
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Tennis, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersTennis), Instagram (
@IslandersTennis) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Tennis).
#ShakasUp
