April 28, 2005
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Freshman Max Jones became the first Lobo honored as the Mountain West Conference men’s tennis Freshman of the Year last night, receiving the honor at the conference championships’ opening banquet.
Jones had the best record of all freshmen in the MWC, going 23-10 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles. He was the only freshman to play a substantial amount of matches at the No. 1 spot, posting a 3-4 mark after facing all but one of the MWC’s top singles players. His 23 wins overall and 12 in dual matches so far this season are the most of any Lobo this year. His tremendous success also lead to a berth on the all-MWC singles team, the only freshman to make the cut.
Seniors David Kowalski (left) and Ryan Stotland. |
Seniors Ryan Stotland and David Kowalski both made the all-MWC singles and doubles teams. It is Kowalski’s third time making the singles team and second on the doubles team. It is the second singles selection for Stotland and third for doubles. Kowalski and Stotland were the only repeat doubles team to earn the honor.
Stotland and Kowalski posted a 23-8 record this year in doubles including a 10-3 mark at No. 1 doubles. Kowalski recently broke the UNM career doubles record, recording his 99th victory. In singles, Stotland saw action at No. 1 and 2, going 5-3 and 4-3, respectively for an overall record of 20-10. Kowalski played most of the year at No. 3, going 9-3 for a 16-10 overall record. Kowalski is also ranked No. 112 by the ITA.
Jones, Kowalski and Stotland will try to lead the Lobos back to a second straight MWC Championship, starting with sixth-seeded Air Force today at 11 a.m. With a win, they would move on to play the second seed in BYU tomorrow at 11 a.m.
2005 all-Mountain West Conference Men’s Tennis Team
Singles
**Shannon Buck, Jr., Air Force
**David Kowalski, Sr., New Mexico
**Henner Nehles, Sr., UNLV
*Markus Dickhardt, So., San Diego State
*Tyler McClung, Sr., Air Force
*Ryan Stotland, Sr., New Mexico
Armando Carrascosa, Sr., San Diego State
Tomasz Grzyb, Jr., Utah
Max Jones, Fr., New Mexico
Joel Kielbowicz, Jr., UNLV
James Ludlow, So., BYU
Nima Roshan, Jr., BYU
Benedikt Stronk, Jr., San Diego State
Doubles
*Ryan Stotland/David Kowalski, New Mexico
David Campbell/Joel Kielbowicz, UNLV
Zach Ganger/Miron Mann, Utah
Dontia Haynes/Daniel Jung, San Diego State
Dominik Kaufold/James Ludlow, BYU
Jose Lechuga/Nima Roshan, BYU
**three-time all-MWC selection
*two-time all-MWC selection