Feb. 8, 2005
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THIS WEEK
The No. 32 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team travels to Louisville, Ky. this weekend to face first time opponents Middle Tennessee State and No. 75 University of Louisville at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Lobos take on Middle Tennessee in a neutral match on Saturday, Feb. 12 at noon (MST) followed by a match against host Louisville on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. (MST).
NATIONAL RANKINGS
After a challenging three days at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wis. last week, New Mexico (0-3) dropped from No. 24 to No. 32 in this week’s ITA team national rankings.
BYU (4-1) now holds the highest national ranking in the Mountain West Conference with a No. 23 mark. UNLV (1-0) and San Diego State (3-2) are still on the national list as the Rebels are ranked No. 45 and the Aztecs hold a No. 68 ranking.
The next team ranking will be released next Tuesday, Feb. 15.
Individual rankings remain the same until Feb. 22 when the new individual rankings will be released. In the first individual rankings of the season, Maja Kovacek earned the highest singles ranking in UNM women’s tennis history and a personal best with a No. 24 standing. She passed former New Mexico women’s player Chris Hoffee who was ranked No. 33 in 1988. Iva Gersic was also featured in the singles rankings as the 66th-nationally ranked player. As a doubles team, the combined forces of Kovacek and Gersic managed to rank as the No. 4 team in the nation. It was also the highest ranking the UNM women’s tennis program had ever seen. The duo just beat out last season’s 5th-nationally ranked All-American pair of Kovacek and former Lobo Sandy Lukowski.
A LOOK AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
Senior Michelle Heidbrink |
The Blue Raiders are currently 2-0 after kicking off their season last weekend with wins over Belmont and Troy.
This season’s roster features three seniors, including top-returning player Jennifer Klaschka, one sophomore and two freshmen. Middle Tennessee is coached by Randy Holden who has a 46-40 record in four years with the Blue Raiders.
Last season, Middle Tennessee finished with a 12-19 overall record and fifth in the Sun Belt Conference.
A LOOK AT LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals currently hold a 7-2 record after starting their season back on Jan. 22. The two losses came against 14th-nationally ranked Kentucky (L, 6-1) and Marshall (L, 5-2).This week U of L earned its first national ranking of the season. The Cardinals are currently tied at No. 75 in the nation with Mississippi State and Washington State.
Head coach Greg Davis is in his third year with Louisville and has a 43-18 overall record in two seasons. This season Davis leads a roster with two seniors, one junior, two sophomores and three freshmen.For the 2003-04 season, the Cardinals finished with a 21-11 overall record and placed fourth in the Conference USA.
LAST WEEK: ITA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
The ITA National Team Indoor Championship last week in Madison, Wis. marked the start of New Mexico’s 2005 season and it proved to be the toughest start ever for the Lobos. UNM was making its only second appearance at the national event among high caliber teams that had been to the tournament almost every year.
In the first round, New Mexico faced No. 11 Washington and fell 6-1. The Lobos then moved to the consolation bracket to face an even higher ranked No. 5 Northwestern team. The Wildcats, who had been upset by No. 13 Georgia in the primary round, brought fierce competition to the match against the Lobos and won 7-0. The highlight of the match for UNM was the upset at the No. 1 doubles position as the 4th-nationally ranked doubles team of Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic defeated the nation’s top-ranked Northwestern doubles team of Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier, 8-3.
In the second round consolation match, New Mexico went up against host No. 48 Wisconsin. With home court advantage on its side, Wisconsin edged a close 4-3 win over the Lobo squad.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz welcomed the challenging weekend and said it would only make the team stronger in the long run.
Sophomore Iva Gersic |
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Despite struggling with a pulled stomach muscle for the entire ITA Indoor Championship, sophomore Iva Gersic won all three doubles matches with teammate Maja Kovacek, including a huge upset over the top-nationally ranked Northwestern doubles team.
Gersic was 1-3 at the No. 2 singles spot at the tournament with two of the three matches going into three set tie-breakers.
The Lobo sophomore currently holds a 12-4 record in singles this season and is 16-3 in doubles competition with Kovacek.
ON THE ROSTER
The Lobos feature nine players on the roster this season with two seniors (Michelle Heidbrink and Tiffany Robertson), one junior (Maja Kovacek), four sophomores (Elisa Bonner, Allison Davis, Iva Gersic and Nora Quintal) and two freshman (Jennifer Ryba and Lucy Scott). The UNM tennis team is coached by head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz who is entering her 20th year with the Lobos and assistant coach Roy Cañada who is entering his ninth year.
The Lobos lost three seniors from the 2003-04 squad (Sandy Lukowski, Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Tjasa Suvak).
UNM’S FIRST ALL-AMERICAN
Maja Kovacek is back for her junior campaign with the Lobos. Last season was a whirlwind for the Pula, Croatia native as she had an outstanding run at the No. 1 singles position, earning her MWC Player of the Year and made a huge impact in doubles competition where she earned All-American status with Sandy Lukowski for the first time in UNM women’s tennis history. The duo advanced to the Final Four at the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
Freshman Lucy Scott |
UNM TENNIS QUICK HITS
Five out of nine players on the UNM women’s tennis team are international student-athletes.
Sophomore Iva Gersic currently holds the record for highest career winning percentage (61-12, .836) and holds the record for most wins (singles and doubles) in a single season.
The outdoor tennis courts at the Lobo Tennis Club were fully replaced in July 2004.
The Lobos have maintained above a 3.0 G.P.A. for 26 straight semesters and above a 3.2 G.P.A. for 18 consecutive semesters.
In the spring of 2004, the Lobos captured their fifth undefeated home record in the last eight years and their 18th straight home win.
In 2004, New Mexico won its first Mountain West Conference regular season title with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play.
UNM’S 2005 RECORD WHEN
OVERALL: 0-3
HOME: 0-0
ROAD: 0-1
NEUTRAL: 0-2
MWC: 0-0
MWC HOME: 0-0
MWC ROAD: 0-0
AGAINST CENTRAL REGION: 0-0
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: 0-3
LOSES THE DOUBLES POINT: 0-2
WINS AT NO. 1 SINGLES: 0-1
WINS THE DOUBLES POINT: 0-1
SWEEPS DOUBLES PLAY: 0-0
WINS AT NO. 1 DOUBLES: 0-3
THE SCHEDULE
Once again New Mexico’s schedule is packed with ranked opponents, non-conference and conference.
The Lobos host only six home matches at the Lobo Tennis Club, while the rest are to be played on the road.
Conference games will be played toward the end of New Mexico’s schedule, starting at the end of March.