Feb. 10, 2004
UPCOMING: The No. 51 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team hit the road this week for two dual-matches. The Lobos face No. 34 Arizona on Thursday, February 12 at 1:30 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz. and in-state rival NMSU on Saturday, February 14 at 10:00 a.m. in Las Cruces, N.M.
UNM IN THE RANKINGS: The UNM tennis team, after three matches, has improved from a No. 52 to a No. 51 national ranking this week according to the I.T.A. The No. 51 ranking is the highest UNM has been placed during the 2003-04 season. The Lobos completed the 2002-03 season at No. 54.
LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend, the Lobos proved they could handle the No. 7 Northwestern Wildcats, losing by only one point (4-3) in one of UNM’s best performances against a highly ranked team. Head Coach Kathy Kolankiewicz was impressed by the squad’s solid showing at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
“I believe that was the best we have ever done against a highly ranked team. We were very solid in our doubles. Overall, I was very happy with the match,” said Kolankiewicz.
At the No. 1 doubles spot, Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski fell in a close match to Northwestern’s top-ranked doubles team of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush, 8-6, but it turned out to be the only loss during the doubles round as the duo of Iva Gersic and Maria Ruiz-Fabrega pulled out a win for UNM, defeating Alexis Prousis and Ruth Barnes, 8-6, at the No. 2 spot. Tiffany Robertson and Michelle Heidbrink then went on to clinch the doubles point at the No. 3 position with an 8-5 win over NU’s Andrea Yung and Connie Chiang.
In singles action, UNM’s two wins came from Robertson and senior Tjasa Suvak. At the No. 4 spot, Robertson defeated Prousis, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 while Suvak garnered a 7-6, 2-7, 7-5 vicotry over Yung.
UNM VS. DEPAUL: The Lobos ended their road trip with a 6-1 win over non-ranked DePaul University Sunday, February 1. UNM swept the doubles competition and took five out of six singles wins to improve its record to 2-1 on the season.
No. 82 Gersic captured a win at the No. 1 singles spot, beating Marina Parashkevora, 6-3, 6-0. At the No. 2 singles position, Kovacek earned a 6-3, 6-1 win over Gergana Ganeva while Lukowski added a point for UNM at the No. 3 singles position with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Brenda Leung. The other singles wins came from Robertson at No. 4 and Suvak at No. 5. Robertson showed solid play, beating Petra Rehusova 6-3, 6-4 while Suvak capped off the singles victories with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over DePaul’s Natalie Matko.
In doubles action, the team of Kovacek and Lukowski shut down Parashkevora and Ganeva, 8-3 at No. 1 doubles. Gersic and Ruiz-Fabrega claimed a victory at the No. 2 doubles spot, beating Rehusova and N. Matko 8-1 while Robertson and Heidbrink rounded out the doubles round with an 8-3 win over Depaul’s Karen Falduto and Leung.
SCOUTING ARIZONA AND NMSU: After a week off from competition, the Arizona Wildcats (2-1) return to action at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center to face the Lobos for the first time this season.
The 2003-04 UA squad is comprised of four returning veterans and four newcomers. Top players on the court for Arizona are juniors Dianne Hollands and Maja Mlakar. Holland s is currently ranked No. 28 in singles according to the I.T.A. national polls while Mlakar follows at No. 29. Together, the UA juniors are ranked No. 19 in doubles.
Last season, the Lobos defeated the New Mexico State Aggies, 4-3, at the Lobo Tennis Center. The Aggies (3-2) look to rebound this Saturday at the NMSU Tennis Center after losing a tough match to Sacremento State (7-0) last weekend.
The last time the Lobos saw NMSU was at the the UNM Fall Invite held in November. UNM had no problem handling the Aggies, winning five of seven singles matches and all three doubles matches.
GERSIC IS GOLDEN: Freshman Iva Gersic (Koprivnica, Croatia) has proved to be a helpful addition to the 2003-04 Lobo tennis squad. Gersic made her mark during the fall schedule, earning an outstanding 11-2 singles record and receiving a No. 7 regional singles ranking. She made her presence known at the I.T.A. Central Regional Championships in October when she reached the quarterfinals in singles. In addition to her success in singles competition, the UNM freshman posted an impressive 12-2 doubles record over the fall with teammate Maria Ruiz-Fabrega. The duo showed great form at the I.T.A. Regional Championships, making it to the round of 16.
Gersic enters the spring schedule with a national ranking of 82 .The ranking is the highest a freshman has received so far this season and the first career national ranking for Gersic. The talented freshman was also awarded the first MWC Player of the Week honor on Jan. 29, 2004 after leading the Lobos to victory against the NAU Lumberjacks. Gersic was the first Lobo and MWC woman tennis player to receive the honor this season.
AWARDS ON THE COURT: Last week, junior Tiffany Robertson (Blenheim, New Zealand) received the MWC Player of the Week honor after showing solid play against Northwestern and DePaul. The award was Robertson’s second career honor and first of the season. Robertson is the second Lobo to earn the MWC player of the Week honor this year.
Last season, the MWC awarded the Lobos with three Player of the Week awards which were given to Maja Kovacek, 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 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.
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. 29 San Diego State and second-place finisher No. 20 BYU may offer the biggest challenge to the Lobos this year. In addition, No. 38 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 recent I.T.A. polls. New Mexico will meet up with No. 28 Oklahoma, No. 57 Colorado, No. 60 San Diego, No. 49 Tulsa and No. 50 Washington State.