Feb. 17, 2004
UPCOMING: The No. 51 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team are on the road this weekend for matches six and seven. On Saturday, Feb. 21, the Lobos face No. 28 Oklahoma (5-0) in Oklahoma City, Okla. at 4:00 p.m. and then travel to Tulsa, Okla. on Sunday, Feb. 22, to face No. 49 Tulsa (6-1) at 10:00 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Last week, the Lobos saw both sides of the coin, taking a loss against No. 34 Arizona and capturing a win over in-state rival New Mexico State.
On Thursday, Feb. 12, UNM fell to the Arizona Wildcats, 5-2, at the Lanelle Robson Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz. The Lobos could only gain two singles wins and one doubles win during the match.
The lone win in doubles action came from the duo of freshman Iva Gersic and senior Maria Ruiz-Fabrega. At the No. 2 spot, the UNM tandem defeated UA’s Kelly Perry and Debbie Larocque, 9-8.
In singles action, senior Sandy Lukowski was victorious at No. 3, beating Larocque 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 while junior Michelle Heidbrink showed winning form at No. 6 with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Wildcat Iza Ferreira.
UNM VS. NEW MEXICO STATE: The Lobos were able to rebound from their loss to Arizona as they went on to down NMSU, 5-2, on Saturday, Feb. 14 in Las Cruces, N.M. The Lobos earned four singles wins and swept the doubles round to improve their record to 3-2 on the season.
At No. 1 doubles, Lukowski and sophomore Maja Kovacek defeated NMSU’s Lejla Porobic and Sandra Mayr, 8-1 while at the No. 2 spot, Ruiz-Fabrega and Gersic garnered an 8-4 win over Porobic and Nicole Fintell. Rounding out the doubles were Tiffany Robertson and Heidbrink with an 8-4 victory over NMSU’s Isabelle Mignot and Aline Opala.
In singles competiton, everyone moved up a spot to substitute an injured Gersic who usually plays at the No. 1 singles position. Kovacek captured a win at No. 1 singles, beating Porobic, 6-2, 6-2 while at No. 3, Robertson added a win, defeating Fanny Rollet, 6-2, 6-2. Heidbrink and senior Tjasa Suvak each picked up a win at the No. 4 and 5 singles spots. Heidbrink defeated Opala 6-1, 6-1 and Suvak defeated Fintell 6-2, 6-2.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: Last season, the Lobos were unable to get past regional opponent Oklahoma, losing 6-1 at the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Overall OU leads the all-time series over the Lobos 8-5 in head-to-head duals.
Sooner senior Anda Perianu is undoubtedly Oklahoma’s top competitor on the courts. Perianu is nationally-ranked at No. 3 in singles play and is now 3-0 on the season in singles. After five matches, three other Oklahoma players are also undefeated. Junior Heather Saluri and freshmen Irina Lykina and Amanda Pratzel are all 4-0 on the season in sinlges. In doubles play, OU’s team of Bethany Griffin and Gabby Baker remains undefeated at the No. 3 spot at 2-0.
SCOUTING TULSA: The Lobos defeated Tulsa 4-3 in a home dual-match last season. This spring, the Golden Hurricanes boast a solid 6-1 record after a weekend of wins. Last Friday, Feb. 13, Tulsa defeated Hampton 6-1 and then went on to beat 75th-ranked Texas-Arlington 4-3 on Sunday, Feb. 15.
There are several top Tulsa competitors the Lobos will have to face, including the 32nd-ranked doubles team of Daniela Muscolino and Ilona Somers. Earlier this fall, the tandem lost to 21st-ranked Lukowski and Kovacek, 8-4, in the final match at the ITA Central Region Championships.
Muscolino also posts a 5-0 singles record, playing all but one match at the No. 1 slot. Santie Delport and Donata Majauskaite are also a powerful doubles team as they are 6-0 in doubles, playing the majority of their matches in the No. 2 position.
UNM IN THE RANKINGS: Last week, the Lobos improved to a national ranking of 51. The Lobos completed the 2003 season at No. 54 in the nation. UNM players who are nationally ranked this season include, freshman Iva Gersic (No. 82) and sophomore Maja Kovacek (No. 99). Kovacek is also ranked No. 21 in doubles with teammate Sandy Lukowski.
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: Junior Tiffany Robertson (Blenheim, New Zealand) was the last Lobo to receive the MWC Player of the Week honor (Feb. 4) 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.