UPCOMING: The Lobo women’s tennis squad takes to the courts this weekend in Evanston, Ill. for a full weekend of dual-matches against No. 8 Northwestern on Saturday, Jan. 31 and DePaul University on Sunday, Feb. 1. Both matches are set for noon.
LUMBERJACKS FALL TO LOBOS, 7-0: The UNM tennis team started the spring schedule with a bang last Saturday, Jan. 24, sweeping the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 7-0 in the first dual-match of the season. Freshman Iva Gersic had a solid debut at the no. 1 position in singles with a two set vicotry (6-1,6-2) over Kristina Klokinis.
Sophomore Maja Kovacek flexed her winning muscle at the No. 2 spot in singles. She earned a clear 6-0, 6-2 defeat over NAU’s Ashley Dille, while senior Sandy Lukowski was solid at N0. 3, beating Karen Kmiec, 6-2, 6-2. Junior Tiffany Robertson and senior Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Tjasa Suvak finished out the singles play with three decisive wins. Robertson defeated Julie Schmandt 6-4, 6-1 before Ruiz-Fabrega put Nau’s Susan McClelland away in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Suvak showed her spring form, needing two quick sets to overcome Lindsay Villegas, 6-1, 6-0.
UNM clinched the doubles point with three resounding victories. At the No. 1 position, top regional competitors Lukowski and Kovacek had a landslide victory over the doubles pair of Klokinis and Dille, beating the duo 8-1. The pair of Gersic and Ruiz-Fabrega, who played at the No. 2 spot, were also vicotrious, beating the NAU duo of Schmandt and McClelland, 8-3. Rounding out doubles competition at the third spot were Robertson and junior Michelle Heidbrink who had an 8-0 win over Kmiec and Ashley Hunt. UNM improves to 1-0 while NAU fall to 0-1.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: Nationally ranked at No. 8 and looking to win their sixth-straight Big Ten title, the Northwestern Wildcats will be one of the toughest teams UNM will face this season. Last weekend, the Wildcats had a huge upset over No. 14 William and Mary with a 5-2 victory, improving them to 2-0.
Top competitors for Northwestern will be fourth-ranked sophomore Cristelle Grier and No. 36 Jessica Rush. This fall, Grier defended her title at the ITA Midwest Championships and posted a 10-2 record. Last season, Grier ended with a 38-7 record at No. 1, tying a school record for wins. She also went 25-0 in dual matches, including 10-0 in the Big Ten and was named ITA All-American and All Big-Ten.
Rush is making her second-srtaight start at No. 2 singles. Last year, the senior posted a perfect 10-0 mark in the Big Ten and this fall reached her 100th career singles win (102-38 overall). Grier and Rush have also paired up and become the top-ranked doubles team in the nation. During the fall, the duo won the doubles title at the ITA National Indoor and Midwest Championships. They finished the fall schedule with a solid 13-1 doubles mark.
SCOUTING DEPAUL: DePaul University will be the first non-ranked team the Lobos face this season. Last weekend, the Blue Demons were swept by Purdue on Saturday, but regained winning momentum on Sunday, defeating Bradley and Valparaiso 6-1. Leading the way for the DePaul tennis squad is Gergana Ganeva and Marina Parashkevora. Gergana was recently named Conference USA Women’s Athlete of the Week while Parashkevora represented DePaul at the prestigious ITA/Riviera Championships in October. She was the fourth tennis player in DePaul tennis history to be invited to the competition.
UNM IN THE RANKINGS: The UNM tennis team, after its first match against NAU, remains No. 52 in the ITA national rankings this week.The squad finished off the 2003 season at No. 54 in the national polls and No. 6 in the regional rankings.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: The UNM tennis team has always placed an emphasis on academics and has set the standard in Lobo athletics. The team has maintained above a 3.0 G.P.A for 24 straight semesters.
Last season, for maintaining above a 3.5 team grade point average, the squad earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-Academic Team honor for the eigth straight year. Four Lobos were named individual I.T.A. Academic All-Americans for achieving above a 3.5 G.P.A.
The Lobos had seven out of eight players named to the 2003 MWC All-Academic team including senior Rachel Hatley, juniors Tjasa Suvak and Maria Ruiz-Fabrega, sophomores Tiffany Robertson and Michelle Heidbrink and freshman Maja Kovacek.
We’ve always been proud of how hard our players work both on and off the court,” said Head Coach Kathy Kolankiewicz. “Their effort is truly amazing despite an incredible amount of time spent on practice, traveling and competing.”
KUDOS FOR KOVACEK: Considered one of the top performers for the Lobos last season, Kovacek (Pula, Croatia) continued in her tradition of success this fall. In October she represented UNM at the I.T.A./Riviera All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, garnering a 2-2 record. During the fall, Kovacek accumulated a 7-4 singles record and a 10-4 doubles record with teammate Lukowski. Kovacek finished 10th in singles in the I.T.A. Fall Central Region ranks.
Last season, Kovacek maintained her spot at the No.1 singles position and finished with an overall record of 23-12 in singles and 21-11 in doubles.
AWARDS ON THE COURT: Last season, the MWC awarded the Lobos with three Player of the Week awards which were given to Maja Kovacek, Tiffany Robertson and Sandy Lukowski. As well, several Lobos received post-season accolades. Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski were both named to the 2003 all-MWC singles team. The two were named together on the all-MWC doubles team as well, along with fellow teammates Tiffany Robertson and Michelle Heidbrink.
Most notably, Kovacek was named the I.T.A. Central Region Rookie of the Year, an honor that UNM had not enjoyed since 1997.
Coaching award: This fall, head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz was awarded the United States Professional Tennis Association Southwest Section College Coach of the Year honor for the first time in her coaching career at UNM.
2004 SCHEDULE: The Lobos can expect stiff competition this spring. Not only do they play the MWC regulars, but UNM will also face a schedule composed of numerous nationally ranked competitors.
The New Mexico squad will square off against its MWC opponents towards the end of the season after several weeks of playing strictly non-conference teams. Reigning MWC title holders No. 28 San Diego State and second-place finisher N0. 45 BYU may offer the biggest challenge to the Lobos this year. In addition, No. 36 UNLV will be gunning for a top spot in the MWC.
Almost every non-conference team the Lobos face this spring is ranked nationally according to the ITA’s 2002 year-end rankings. New Mexico will meet up with No. 14 Northwestern , No. 26 Arizona and No. 35 Oklahoma. The Lobos will also take to the court to face No. 44 Colorado, No. 46 San Diego, No. 50 Tulsa and No. 51 Washington State.