Jan. 27, 2005
SWINGING IN SEATTLE: The 65th-ranked New Mexico men’s tennis team heads to Seattle, Wash. for two matches this weekend. The Lobos will take on 21st-ranked Washington on Friday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m followed by No. 55 Michigan State on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. It will be the second and third straight match for the Lobos against a nationally-ranked opponent.
The Lobos are 0-1 this season after a 4-1 loss to No. 74 Colorado at the ITA Region VII Team Playoffs hosted by Boise State. Freshman Max Jones netted the sole Lobo point with his 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 3 over Marcos Digliodo. Senior Ryan Stotland, ranked No. 122, did not get to complete his match at No. 1 against Marko Bundalo.
With the match already decided, doubles play was cancelled leaving the nation’s third-ranked doubles team of Stotland and classmate David Kowalski unable to show their stuff.
The Lobos will look for revenge in a rematch from the first round of the 2004 NCAA Championships, when the Huskies ended the Lobos’ season with a 4-0 win. The Huskies (2-0) continue their season opening ten-match homestand this weekend facing their first ranked opponents of the year. They are coming off a 6-1 win over Portland and 7-0 sweep of San Francisco. The Huskies are led by sophomore Alex Slovic, ranked ninth in the nation in singles and senior All-American Alex Vlaski.
Michigan State comes into the weekend with a perfect 4-0 start to their season. The Spartans posted a 17-13 mark last season, but missed the NCAA tournament. Senior Andrew Formanczyk leads the Spartans in singles and is ranked just outside the top-100 at No. 102. Formanczyk teams with freshman Nick Rinks to earn a No. 47 doubles ranking.
ITA REGION VII TEAM PLAYOFF RECAP: The New Mexico men’s tennis team fell short in its quest to play Boise State in the finals at the ITA Mountain Region Indoor Tennis Tournament with a 4-1 loss to Colorado in the Boise State/Boas Tennis Center.
Freshman Max Jones is in the midst of a stellar freshman campaign. |
Freshman Max Jones netted the Lobos lone point at No. 3 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Marcos Digliodo. Senior Ryan Stotland, ranked No. 123, did not get to complete his match at No. 1 against Marko Bundalo.
Colorado 4, New Mexico 1
Singles:
1. Marko Bundalo, CU, vs. Ryan Stotland, UNM, DNF
2. Jan Zelezny, CU, def. David Kowalski, UNM, 6-2 6-2
3. Max Jones, UNM, def. Marcos Digliodo, CU, 6-3 7-5
4. Peter Bjork, CU, def. Kamil Pajkowski, UNM, 6-4 6-0
5. Marek Dvorak, CU, def. Eric Conklin, UNM, 6-4 6-2
6. Chad Tsuda, CU, def. Derek Boland, UNM, 6-4 6-4
Doubles:
1. Digiodo/Tsuda, CU, vs. Stotland/Kowalski, UNM, cancelled
2. Bundalo/Bjork, CU, vs. Pajkowski/Jones, UNM, cancelled
3. Dvorak/Zelezny, CU, vs. Conklin/Boland, UNM, cancelled
IN THE RANKINGS: Seniors David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland are ranked third in the nation for doubles according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll released today.
Stotland also earned a singles ranking, No. 123, while the UNM team ranks 65th, the highest of any Mountain West Conference team.
The Lobos start their extremely tough spring schedule Jan. 22 at the ITA Region VII Team Playoffs hosted by Boise State. New Mexico is scheduled to face nine nationally-ranked teams this year including No. 21 Washington. The Huskies are led by ninth-ranked Alex Slovic, the highest ranked individual on the Lobos schedule.
The next team poll will be announced Feb. 1 while the next singles and doubles poll will be released Feb. 22.
CHASING RECORDS: Senior David Kowalski is going to break records at UNM. He is currently second all-time in career doubles wins with 89, needing just 10 more for a school record. He is also ninth all-time in career singles wins with 72, trailing leaders Divan Coetzee and Pepe Caballero by 24.
As of Jan. 13, Kowalksi and classmate Ryan Stotland were ranked No. 3 in the nation in doubles by the ITA. That ranking makes them the highest in the history of the men’s tennis program.
Senior David Kowalski is extremely close to setting a new career doubles record at UNM. |
This duo also set a new stardard for the program. In the fall, Stotland and Kowalski were the first to make it to the the finals of a nation tournament, taking the stage at the ICY HOT/ITA All-American Championships. They are also aiming to be the first All-Americans for UNM since 1999.
COETZEE STILL RECEIVING RECOGNITION: The winner of the L.F. “Tow” Diehm Inspirational Award for 2003-04 is Divan Coetzee from men’s tennis.
Started in 1997-98, the award is presented annually to UNM male student-athletes based on leadership, character, determination and commitment to team.
This year’s recipient will be recognized before the men’s basketball game on Monday, Jan. 31, against San Diego State. Presenting the award will be Tow’s wife, Pearl.
Divan Coetzee (di-vawn coat-zee) excelled on and off the tennis court. He was the 2004 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, leading UNM to the conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Lobos’ No. 1 player for three straight years, Coetzee set a school record with 37 singles victories last year and tied the career mark with 96 wins. Academically, he managed a 3.66 cumulative GPA, completing his undergraduate degree in less than four years. Coetzee took a mind-boggling 21 hours of graduate-level classes during the 2004 spring semester so he could complete his MBA. A native of Clanwilliam, South Africa, Divan is currently living in New York City where he has interviewed with several Wall Street firms.
The late Tow Diehm served the University of New Mexico for 40 years, most of that time spent as the head athletics trainer. He was also an athletics administrator and a lobbyist for the department to the New Mexico state legislature. Tow passed away on May 1, 1998.
Tow Diehm Award
1997-98 Pepe Caballero – tennis
1998-99 Marcos White – basketball
1999-00 Daniel Reyes – football
2000-01 Brian Smith – basketball
2001-02 Jarrod Baxter – football
2002-03 Dusty Young – baseball
2003-04 Divan Coetzee – tennis