March 8, 2005
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THIS WEEK…
The No. 46 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team plays its last three non-conference matches of the season this weekend as it hosts New Mexico State, No. 53 Tulsa and No. 39 Sacramento State at the Lobo Tennis Club in Albuquerque, N.M. On Friday March 11, the Lobos (6-6) kick off their big weekend of tennis against in-state rival NMSU (5-2) at 4 p.m. New Mexico is then back on the courts on Saturday March 12 for a match against Tulsa (6-7) at 2 p.m. and on Sunday March 13 the Lobos cap their weekend against Sacramento State (9-3) at 2 p.m. Admission is free to all matches.
THIS WEEK’S SCOUTING REPORT…
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (5-2, 0-0 SUN BELT)
Location: Las Cruces, N.M.
Conference: Sun Belt
Head Coach: Don Ball (Idaho State, `71)
2004 Record: 10-12
2004 Central Region Finish: 15th
UNM vs. NMSU: 22-3
Last Time: UNM Won 5-2 At Las Cruces (2/14/04)
Current National Ranking: none
Current Nationally-Ranked Players: none
Fall 2004 Central Region Rankings: Singles: No. 21 Isabelle Mignot
No. 1 Singles Player: Isabelle Mignot
No. 1 Doubles Team: Sandra Mayr/Lejla Porobic
Web Site: www.nmstatesports.com
TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (6-7, 0-0 WAC)
record before facing Texas A&M March 10
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Conference: WAC
Head Coach: Paige McMurray (San Diego State, `93)
Record at Tulsa: 93-53 (6 years)
2004 Record: 16-9
2004 Central Region Finish: 5th
UNM vs. Tulsa: 2-2
Last Time: UNM won 6-0 at Home in the Central Region Team Playoff last October.
Current National Ranking: No. 53
Current Nationally-Ranked Players: none
Fall 2004 Central Region Rankings: Singles: No. 3 Daniela Muscolino and No. 17 Santie Delport Doubles: No. 4 Muscolino/Zabaleta
No. 1 Singles Player: Daniela Muscolino
No. 1 Doubles Team: Muscolino/Carla Zabaleta
Web Site: www.tulsahurricane.com
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (9-3, 3-0 BIG SKY)
Location: Sacramento, Calif.
Conference: Big Sky
Head Coach: Bill Campbell (Sacramento State, ’67)
2004 Record: 16-8
UNM vs. Sacramento State: First meeting
Current National Ranking: No. 39
Current Nationally-Ranked Players: Singles: No. 23 Margarita Karnaukhova and No. 61 Cecilia Helland
No. 1 Singles Player: Margarita Karnaukhova (11-1 record)
No. 1 Doubles Team: Karnaukhova/Anna Karaveyeva (6-6 record)
Web Site: www.hornetsports.com
TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS…
New Mexico received a No. 46 ranking by the ITA Div. I poll this week. Other MWC opponents ranked include, No. 24 BYU, No. 25 San Diego State and No. 30 UNLV.
New team rankings will be released on March 15.
LOBOS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS…
Sophomore Iva Gersic made her way back to the individual rankings with a No. 56 standing this week. Junior Maja Kovacek follows in the singles rankings at No. 66. As a doubles team, Kovacek and Gersic check in as the No. 9 pair in the country.
UNLV’s Elena Gantcheva stands as the highest ranked singles player in the conference as she is currently ranked No. 29 while BYU’s duo of Lauren Jones and Dolly Chang is the only other MWC doubles team ranked as they are tied as the No. 56 tandem in the nation.
New singles and doubles rankings come out March 22.
LAST WEEK: LOBOS MAKE IT A WEEKEND SPLIT…
Last weekend’s trip to Colorado proved to be a big test for the University of New Mexico women’s tennis team. The Lobos got off to a rocky start, falling to 63rd ranked Denver 5-2 on Saturday in Denver, Colo. It was a close and trying match between the two teams as four singles matches went into three sets. With the loss behind them, the Lobos moved on to Boulder, Colo. to face No. 54 Colorado on Sunday afternoon. New Mexico played in a more dominant fashion compared to the day before and rebounded with a huge 6-1 victory over the CU Buffaloes.
Sophomore Iva Gersic |
GERSIC GOES EIGHT STRAIGHT…
Sophomore Iva Gersic has been blazing through the competition at the No. 2 singles position. The Koprivnica, Croatia native is currently on an eight match winning streak this spring. Overall, she has only lost four singles matches, two during spring play. With an overall singles record of 20-4, Gersic has the best record on the UNM squad.
COACH K’S RACE TO 300…
New Mexico head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz is on the hunt for her 300th win this season. With six wins tucked away for New Mexico so far, Kolankiewicz (296-190) only needs four more to reach her goal.
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE…
The Lobos enjoy the comforts of home court advantage and it showed during the 2004 spring season as they captured their fifth undefeated home record in the last eight years and 18th straight home win after defeating Colorado State 7-0 in their last home match of the 2004 season.
This season the Lobos won their first two home matches of the spring schedule against Montana State and No. 24 Oklahoma. New Mexico has won 25 of its last 27 home matches and has won 20 straight in the bubble.
UNM RECORD BOOK…
Expect to see senior Michelle Heidbrink and junior Maja Kovacek move up in the UNM record book this season. Heidbrink is currently in ninth place with 73 career singles wins and is in seventh place with 75 career doubles wins. In combined wins, she is tied for fifth place with a 148.
Kovacek is certainly on pace to place high in the UNM record book for most career doubles wins. As a junior, she is already in sixth place with 76 doubles wins. In singles, she is in 13th place with 65 career singles wins and for wins combined she is tied in 9th place with 141.
Other Lobo players making their way into the record book is senior Tiffany Robertson and sophomore Iva Gersic. Robertson is in 11th place with 66 doubles wins and is in 14th place with a combined singles and doubles win record of 123. Gersic currently holds the highest career winning percentage in the program as she boasts a 103-22 record .824 winning percentage. She is also making her way on the other lists with 48 career singles wins, 55 doubles wins and a combined win record of 103.
NOT AN EASY RIDE…
With matches coming up this weekend against ranked opponents No. 53 Tulsa and No. 39 Sacramento State, New Mexico has already faced nine nationally-ranked teams, including No. 11 Washington, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 48 Wisconsin, No. 75 Louisville, No. 24 Oklahoma, No. 15 Tulane and No. 21 Fresno State, No. 63 Denver and No. 54 Colorado. UNM is currently 3-6 against ranked teams.
NEW MEXICO IN THE CENTRAL REGION…
Last season, New Mexico as a team finished third in the central region behind BYU and Oklahoma. Maja Kovacek finished the 2004 spring season No. 4 in the region as a singles player and Iva Gersic was ranked No. 7. The All-American doubles team of Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski finished the season at No. 1 in the central region.
For the recent 2004 Fall Central Regional rankings, the Lobos had two singles players and two doubles teams featured. Maja Kovacek was ranked No. 2 as a singles player in the region while Iva Gersic was placed at No. 4 . Together, Kovacek and Gersic ranked as the No. 1 doubles team in the region. Michelle Heidbrink and Lucy Scott also ranked as a doubles team. They were ranked No. 15.
CONFERENCE TIME NEARS…
The conference portion of the schedule is right around the corner. After this weekend of matches, the Lobos get the next week off for spring break. The following week they are back on the road to Las Vegas, Nev. for their first two MWC matches against San Diego State and UNLV. The Lobos then travel the next weekend to Laramie, Wyo. for matches against Colorado State and Wyoming. For its last two road matches, New Mexico faces BYU and Utah in Colorado Springs, Colo. Final home and conference match of the regular season will be against Air Force on April 16.