April 3, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ------ UAB senior Kruno Despotovski, who played a key role in helping the Blazers finish their California road trip at 2-0 last week, has been named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Player-of-the-Week.

The Macedonia native went 2-0 in singles at the No. 4 position in UAB's wins over Pac-10 foe Oregon and No. 75 UC Irvine.

Despotovski rallied for a 3-6, 7-5, 10-2 victory at No. 4 singles over the Ducks' Mike Myrhed. He also teamed with Adrian Tollstam at No. 1 doubles to win 9-8 over Oregon's Francisco Gallardo and Marcos Verdascco.

In the 4-3 win over No. 75 UC Irvine Friday, Despotovski was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Shimpei Suzuki at No. 4 singles. With the two wins, UAB improved to 10-5 on the season.

The Blazers (10-5) have won their last four dual matches and six of their last seven. UAB plays host to Birmingham-Southern on Wednesday (2:00 p.m.) at the Brook Highland Racquet Club.