March 30, 2005
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THIS WEEK…
The No. 37 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team pushes ahead for two more Mountain West Conference matches on the road this weekend as the squad travels to Laramie, Wyo. to face Colorado State (9-4, 0-2 MWC) on Saturday, April 2 and Wyoming (7-7, 0-2 MWC) on Sunday, April 3. Both matches begin at 9 a.m. (MST).
The Lobos (10-7, 2-0 MWC) got off to a great start in conference play last weekend as they upset No. 33 San Diego State and No. 35 UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev. Biggest singles win of the weekend came at the No. 1 position where New Mexico’s No. 61 Maja Kovacek gave her best performance of the season by defeating UNLV’s No. 22 Elena Gantcheva in two crushing sets (6-2,6-3).
Last year, New Mexico was named 2004 MWC regular season champion for the first time in program history after scoring an undefeated 7-0 record in regular season conference play.
Not only did the Lobos prove they are ready to win the title again this season with last weekend’s wins, but they also helped UNM’s head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz capture her 300th career win. Kolankiewicz, who is in her 20th year with the Lobos, is the fifth coach in UNM athletic history to reach 300 wins. Kolankiewicz has the highest winning percentage (.611) among the group of UNM coaches that have achieved 300 wins or more, which includes three baseball coaches and a softball coach. She is also the winningest coach among current MWC women’s tennis coaches.
In this week’s ITA rankings, New Mexico made a decent leap from No. 48 in the nation to No. 37. BYU still leads the MWC with a No. 26 ranking while UNLV follows at No. 34. San Diego State follows UNM with a No. 40 mark.
Individual rankings remain the same. Lobos Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic continue to represent the Cherry and Silver in the singles and doubles rankings. Gersic leads in singles at No. 48 while Kovacek checks in with a No. 61 ranking. Together, they form the 8th-ranked doubles team in the country.
A LOOK AT COLORADO STATE…
The Colorado State Rams are currently in sixth place in the MWC ranks with a 0-2 conference record, 9-4 overall. New Mexico has won all 15 times the two teams have met in regular season competition and tournament action. Last season the Lobos swept the Rams, 7-0 at the Lobo Tennis Club during regular season play.
A LOOK AT WYOMING…
The Wyoming Cowgirls are ranked seventh in the MWC with an 0-2 record in conference play and an overall record of 7-7. New Mexico has won all eight matches it has played against the Cowgirls. Last year, the Lobos defeated Wyoming 6-1 at home.
UNM RECORD BOOK…
Junior Maja Kovacek and senior Michelle Heidbrink are on the brink of breaking the most career doubles wins record of 84 set by Ana Friganovic in 2000. Kovacek is currently in third place with 81 career doubles wins and could easily break the record by the end of the regular season. Heidbrink is tied in fourth place with 80 career doubles victories and certainly has a chance to be right with Kovacek on setting the most career doubles wins record.
Heidbrink is also making her way up the most career singles wins record list. She is currently tied for sixth place with 76 wins while Kovacek is at the 12th spot with 69 singles victories.
For highest career winning percentage, sophomore Iva Gersic remains No. 1 on that list with a .830 percentage. Kovacek boasts a .721 winning percentage making her third in the UNM record book.
NOT AN EASY RIDE…
For the first time since facing non-ranked New Mexico State at home, the Lobos are entering this weekend’s matches against non-ranked teams. New Mexico has faced 13 ranked competitors this season including, No. 11 Washington, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 48 Wisconsin, No. 75 Louisville, No. 24 Oklahoma, No. 15 Tulane, No. 21 Fresno State, No. 63 Denver, No. 54 Colorado, No. 53 Tulsa, No. 39 Sacramento State, No. 33 San Diego State and No. 35 UNLV. The Lobos are currently 6-7 against ranked teams.
2005 MWC TOURNAMENT…
This year’s MWC tournament will be held in San Diego, Calif. again April 28-30. Last season, the Lobos entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and defeated Air Force and San Diego State to advance to the championship round against No. 2 seed BYU. The championship match against the Cougars was close, but BYU managed to outlast the Lobos with a tight 4-3 score for the MWC tournament championship title.
Despite the loss in the final round, the Lobos received plenty of recognition from the conference. Maja Kovacek was named player of the year and head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz was named coach of the year. New Mexico also featured three singles players and two doubles teams on the all-MWC teams. Lobos Iva Gersic, Michelle Heidbrink and Maja Kovacek made the singles list and the duos of Gersic and Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski represented New Mexico on the doubles list.
UNM’S LAST HOME MATCH: SENIOR DAY…
The Lobos play their last home match of the season on April 16 against Air Force. It is also the last regular season match before the MWC tournament in San Diego, Calif.
April 16 against Air Force is Senior Day for UNM seniors Michelle Heidbrink (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Tiffany Robertson (Blenheim, New Zealand). It will be their last home match as Lobos. Match time is set for 11 a.m. at the Lobo Tennis Club.