Feb. 14, 2005
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ROCKY WAVES AHEAD IN MALIBU: After 19 days off, the 65th-ranked Lobos head out to Malibu, Calif. to face No. 24 Pepperdine and No. 33 Arizona. New Mexico will take on the Waves Feb. 18 followed by the Wildcats Feb. 19. Both matches are slated for a 1 p.m. PT start.
New Mexico, 1-2, has not played since its 4-3 win over then-ranked No. 55 Michigan State on Jan. 29 in Seattle, Wash. The Lobos have played three consecutive ranked teams, including No. 14 Washington.
Pepperdine (5-1) is coming off a four-match win streak that recently saw them upset Washington, 4-3, on its home court. The Waves’ only loss came in their only other ranked match, falling 4-3 to 12th-ranked USC. Pepperdine swept Santa Clara, 7-0, a team the Lobos will face in Albuquerque on April 3.
The Waves are no stranger to the national rankings. Their top singles player, Pedro Rico, is ranked 13th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Scott Doerner also ranks in the singles poll coming in at No. 86. Rico and Doerner team for a 26th ranking in doubles.
Pepperdine has dominated the series winning the last 12 consecutive meetings for a 3-12 series lead. The last time these two team met was the first round of the NCAA Championships in 1999 when Pepperdine sent the Lobos home with a 4-0 loss. The last time New Mexico defeated the Waves was in 1984, before head coach Alan Dils even competed as a Lobo, by a margin of 6-3.
Arizona (4-3) in on a two-match slide after being swept, 7-0, by 7th-ranked Stanford and falling 4-2 to No. 26 California. All but two of the Wildcats’ seven matches have been against ranked opponents. They did earn a 6-1 win over New Mexico State, a team the Lobos have owned and will face Feb. 25th at 6 p.m. in Albuquerque.
The Wildcats are led by Roger Matalonga and Colin O’Grady who team for a No. 18 doubles ranking. The tandem faced third-ranked Ryan Stotland and David Kowalski at the ITA National Indoor consolation round, falling 9-8 (4). In singles, Matalonga is ranked No. 57 as their top singles player.
Like Pepperdine, Arizona has also been very fortunate when facing the Lobos. Since their first meeting in 1921, Arizona has produced a 40-9 record against New Mexico. The last time they met was in Tim Cass’ final year as head coach. Arizona, then ranked No. 25, beat the Lobos 7-0. The last time New Mexico won was a 5-4 win in 1993.
This meeting with Arizona will be of extra importance for Alan Dils. As an assistant coach for New Mexico, he advised currect Arizona assistant coach Tad Berkowitz. As a student-athlete for New Mexico, Berkowitz led the Lobos to two consecutive WAC championships in 1994 and 1995, as well as being a three-time All-WAC standout while playing in the No. 1 singles position. In 1994, he was named ITA Regional Player to Watch before earning WAC Player of the Year honors in 1995. He competed in three NCAA Championships from 1994-1996. He transferred to New Mexico in 1993 after spending the 1992-93 season at No. 5 singles for Kentucky. Berkowitz earned his degree in speech communications from New Mexico in 1996.
JONES NAMED MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman Max Jones has been selected the Mountain West Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week, announced by the MWC on Feb. 2.
Freshman Max Jones heads to Malibu undefeated in dual singles action. |
Jones, a Chichester, England native, played No. 2 and 3 singles and No. 1 and 2 doubles for the Lobos. He won all four of his matches this past week as No. 65 New Mexico lost to No. 21 Washington and defeated No. 55 Michigan State. Jones won at No. 3 singles against Washington and at No. 2 singles against the Spartans, each by an identical 6-1, 6-3 score. He played No. 1 doubles against Michigan State and No. 2 against Washington and also won each match by an 8-4 margin. Jones is the only Lobo to start the year 3-0 in dual singles play.
MICHIGAN STATE RECAP: Senior Ryan Stotland and freshman Max Jones proved to much for the No. 55 Michigan State Spartans, leading the 65th-ranked Lobos to a 4-3 win in Seattle, Wash. on Jan. 29.
Prior to the match, third ranked Stotland and senior David Kowalski were predicted to take on the Spartans’ 47th-ranked Andrew Formanczyk and Nick Rinks. However, Jones partnered with Stotland at No. 1 doubles due to an injury to Kowalski and Formanczyk paired with Cameron Marshall. Jones and Stotland netted the 8-4 win. Senior Derek Boland and junior Eric Conklin sealed the doubles point with their 8-6 win over Brian Compton and Adam Monich at No. 3.
Stotland, ranked 122nd, upset Formanczyk, ranked 103rd, with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles. Jones grabbed his third straight win, downing Marshall 6-1, 6-3. The deciding point fell into the racket of freshman Kamil Pajkowski as he battled for a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win over Rinks.
Boland came up just shy of his first win as a Lobo, falling to Joseph McWilliams 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. Freshman Derek Lynch saw his first dual meet action as a Lobo but lost 6-0, 6-1.
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 Jan. 13th.
Stotland also earned a singles ranking, No. 122, while the UNM team ranks 65th.
The Lobos started their extremely tough spring schedule Jan. 22 at the ITA Region VII Team Playoffs hosted by Boise State. New Mexico is scheduled to face ten nationally-ranked teams this year. They have already faced Colorado, Washington and Michigan State this season. In the latest rankings released on Feb. 8, Colorado came in at No. 64, Washington at No. 14, and Michigan State at No. 56. The Mountain West Conference is currently represented by No. 59 BYU, the 65th-ranked Lobos and No. 71 Air Force.
The next team poll will be announced Feb. 15 while the next singles and doubles poll will be released Feb. 22.
Senior David Kowalski can increase his doubles total to 92 career wins this weekend. |
CHASING RECORDS: Senior David Kowalski is going to break records at UNM. He is currently second all-time in career doubles wins with 90, needing just 9 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.
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.