Feb. 25, 2004
UPCOMING: After three weeks on the road, the No. 32 UNM women’s squad return home to the Lobo Tennis Club to take on No. 70 Wisconsin on Saturday, Feb. 28 at noon and Houston on Sunday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. Admission is free and results will be posted at www.golobos.com
LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend in Oklahoma, the Lobos had no problem downing regional rivals No. 33 Oklahoma and No. 54 Tulsa. The big weekend wins improved UNM’s record to 5-2 on the season and helped the team go from a national ranking of 51 to a ranking of 32.
On Saturday, Feb. 21, UNM defeated Oklahoma 5-2 at the Woodland County Club in Oklahoma City, Okla. The team gave a united effort, garnering four singles wins and two doubles victories.
In singles action, sophomore Maja Kovacek beat OU’s Irina Lykina, 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles position. At No. 4 singles, Tiffany Robertson battled Heather Saluri to a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(4) win while junior Michelle Heidbrink showed strong form at No. 5 sinlges, downing Jessica Braver, 6-3, 7-5. Rounding out the singles round was senior Tjasa Suvak at No. 6 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Amanda Pratzel.
The two doubles victories came from the No. 1 team of Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski where they defeated OU’s Anda Perianu and Saluri 8-4 and the No. 2 team of Iva Gersic and Maria Ruiz-Fabrega who defeated Lykina and Braver 8-4.
UNM VS. TULSA: With winning momentum from Saturday’s match, the Lobos dominated Tulsa 5-2 in the last competition of the weekend.
In singles action, Kovacek continued her winning ways at No. 2 singles, beating Donata Majauskaite, 6-1, 6-2. At No. 4 singles, Robertson added a point for UNM with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Tulsa’s Santie Delport while Heidbrink caputred a win at No. 5 singles, defeating Timberly Greenly, 6-2, 6-2. Clinching the last singles point at No. 6 was senior Tjasa Suvak. She defeated Lisette Pereira in two quick sets (6-1, 6-1).
UNM swept the doubles round for the final point of the day. At No. 1 doubles, Kovacek and Lukowski defeated Daniela Muscolino and Ilona Somers, 8-4 while at No. 2, Gersic and Ruiz-Fabrega garnered an 8-1 win against Delport and Majauskaite. At No. 3 doubles, Heidbrink and Robertson defeated Kindsay Grimes and Pereira, 8-6.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN: Wisconsin comes to the Lobo Tennis Club with a 5-5 record. The Badgers have lost 7-0 to Notre Dame, 7-0 to Vanderbilt, 5-2 to North Carolina, 4-3 to Tennessee and in their last match on Saturday they lost 4-3 to No. 23 BYU. Victories have come against Drake (7-0), Western Michigan (5-2) and Northern Illinois (6-1). The Badgers also beat DePaul (4-3) and Marquette (5-2).
Sophomore Katie McGaffigan is the only Wisconsin singles player to receive a national ranking by the I.T.A. Her solid skills have earned her a No. 52 national ranking as she is currently 7-3 at No. 1 singles this season, 14-9 overall.
McGaffigan and teammate Lindsay Martin have paired for doubles, posting an overall 13-8 mark so far. In December, the duo was ranked 13th in the Midwest region ranking.
SCOUTING HOUSTON: Unranked Houston is 4-3 this season in dual-match competition after coming away with two losses last weekend. The Cougars were swept by Alabama, 7-0, on Friday and were unable to rebound with a win on Sunday, losing to SMU, 4-3.
Top player for Houston is junior Bilijana Dimovska who is the only Houston player to boast a national ranking at No. 80 in singles play.
Last time UNM met with Houston was November 2002 at the New Mexico Fall Invitational. The Lobos went 7-0 in singles against the Cougars and 2-1 in doubles.
UNM IN THE RANKINGS: The Lobos have moved from a No. 51 to an impressive No. 32 team national ranking according to the I.T.A. Individual Lobo players made the ranks as well after showing solid spring play over the past month. Maja Kovacek made a huge leap from a No. 99 ranking in singles play to a No. 57 national ranking while Iva Gersic marked in at No. 99 in the national poll. Kovacek along with teammate Sandy Lukowski ranked No. 16 in doubles, improving on their previous national ranking of 21.
PACK A ONE, TWO PUNCH: UNM can find one of its strongest forces at the No. 2 doubles position with the duo of freshman Iva Gersic and senior Maria Ruiz-Fabrega. The powerful tandem currently boasts a perfect 5-0 record in spring play, 17-2 overall.
The No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams follow close behind with nearly perfect records as well. The nationally-ranked No. 16 team of Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski make a menacing pair for opposing competitors at the No. 1 spot. They are currently 3-2 in doubles play, 13-6 overall.
Rounding out the solid group of doubles teams is the junior pair of Michelle Heidbrink and Tiffany Robertson. At No. 3 doubles, the pair post a 4-1 spring record, 12-5 overall.
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. 34 San Diego State and second-place finisher No. 23 BYU may offer the biggest challenge to the Lobos this year. In addition, No. 37 UNLV and No. 74 Utah will be gunning for a top spot in the MWC.
Almost every non-conference team the Lobos face the rest of the spring schedule is ranked nationally according to the recent I.T.A. polls. New Mexico will meet up with No. 57 Boise State, No. 49 Colorado, No. 63 Washington State and No. 64 San Diego.