Puetz Earns SEC Weekly Honor - AuburnTigers.com - Auburn University Official Athletic Site

Puetz Earns SEC Weekly Honor The junior is 7-0 in singles play and 5-0 in doubles this spring

Tim Puetz

Feb. 24, 2010

AUBURN, Ala. - Junior Tim Puetz picked up his first SEC weekly honor of the season, being named men's tennis Player of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday.

"Tim is a talented player that plays with a lot of options," head coach Eric Shore said. "He moves extremely well and has a lot of variety in his game. He isn't a one-dimensional player and is the complete package for this team."

The Usingen, Germany, product stands at 7-0 on the spring season and is 18-4 overall this year at the No. 1 singles spot for the nationally-ranked Tigers. His only other SEC honor came on Feb. 19, 2008, when he was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

In the team's tough 4-3 loss to No. 30 Georgia Tech last Wednesday, Puetz recorded a come-from-behind victory over then fourth-ranked singles player in the country in Guillermo Gomez in three sets. Gomez topped Puetz, 6-2, in the first set, but Puetz battled back in the second to win 6-3. Puetz, ranked No. 25 in the country, fought Gomez in the third set and came out on top, 7-5.

"That match showed what he is capable of and that he has a lot of confidence in himself," Shore said. "A lot of guys would have been done after the first set, but he raised his match a figured out a way to win."

Among his other achievements this season, Puetz and partner Alex Stamchev were ranked the top doubles team in the country on Thursday, according to the ITA polls. The pair most recently defeated Georgia Tech's Dean O'Brien and Eliot Potvin, 8-5. They are 5-0 on the spring season and have an overall record of 16-2 together.

The Tigers travel to Tulsa, Okla., on Feb. 28 to take on the University of Tulsa Hurricane. The match is set for 12 p.m. CST and will be played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.