May 20, 2005
2005 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2005 NCAA Individual Tennis Championships begin on Monday, May 23 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. and New Mexico’s Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic will take to the court to see what kind of ending they can make to an already fantastic season. All-American doubles player Kovacek, who is competing for the second straight year at the championship, will be representing UNM as a singles player and a doubles player for the second time in her career while Gersic will be joining Kovacek in the doubles tournament for her first NCAA championship appearance.
The individual tournament runs May 23-28 with the singles portion starting on Monday and doubles on Tuesday. Kovacek enters a field of 64 singles players on Monday, and in doubles, Kovacek and Gersic will be in a bracket of 32 teams starting Tuesday.
The singles and doubles brackets have yet to be announced. The NCAA will most likely wait until the team tournament is over which started Thursday, May 19 and ends on Sunday, May 22. All tournament information can be found at www.georgiadogs.com or by clicking on the NCAA Championship logo found on the Lobo women’s tennis page at www.golobos.com.
Junior Maja Kovacek |
A LOOK AT KOVACEK: Starting as the No. 1 singles player for most of the season, Kovacek brings a lot of talent and experience to this year’s singles tournament. Overall, the junior is 30-8 solo and boasts an 18-6 record in spring competition. She has remained in the ITA national rankings all season with her highest mark coming at the beginning of the new year where she was No. 24, making her the highest ranked singles player UNM women’s tennis has ever seen. In Mountain West Conference play, Kovacek carried her team with an almost perfect singles record of 6-1. She also managed two upsets over UNLV’s top player Elena Gantcheva. The first upset came during the regular season when Kovacek was ranked No. 61 and the Rebel freshman was sporting an intimidating No. 22 mark and the second upset came in the semifinal match at the MWC tournament where then No. 46 Kovacek defeated No. 28 Gantcheva. Kovacek is currently ranked No. 45 in the nation.
Kovacek is 1-1 in NCAA singles tournament action.
A LOOK AT THE DOUBLES TEAM: With the doubles team of Kovacek and sophomore Iva Gersic, you get double the talent, double the intensity and double trouble if you are the opposing team. Both have been undeniable forces as the No. 1 and 2 singles players for New Mexico, but most of the noise as been coming from the No. 1 doubles position where the two unite to make for some explosive tennis. There is no ignoring the amount of success Gersic accumulated as a singles player this season. She is 29-5 overall, 18-3 in spring play. She also went undefeated during MWC regular season competition. With Gersic equally as talented in singles as Kovacek, it’s no wonder the pair has seen so much success this season as a doubles team. Starting the new year as the 4th-ranked doubles team (highest ranking for UNM ever), the duo had a lot riding on its shoulders. The pressure did not interrupt the tandem’s magnificent run though as they maintained a top-10 ranking for most of the season. Recently, they were ranked as the 11-th team by the ITA, making it the first time this year the pair has dipped below the top-10. The records seem to be the most important numbers to look at as the duo enters the tournament with an overall mark of 33-7. With 33 wins this year, Kovacek and Gersic are two wins away from breaking the record for most doubles wins in a single season.
The doubles pair of Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic |
Kovacek’s and Gersic’s journey as a doubles team has come full circle now as they enter the final national tournament on Tuesday. Last fall, the pair gained experience at the first two national collegiate tennis events, the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and the ITA National Indoor Championship. A lot of good things happened for the team at both prestigious tournaments, including a semifinal finish at the All-American Championship and a consolation victory at the indoors. The pair, which was ranked No. 11 at the time, also claimed a few outstanding upsets over a No. 2, No. 3 and a No. 8 ranked doubles team.
The Lobo duo has definitely turned some heads on a national level as well as within the MWC. At the conference championships in April, Kovacek and Gersic were recognized for their stunning season with the MWC Co-players of the Year Award. It was the first time the Mountain West has honored two women’s tennis players for the presitgious award. Kovacek was also recently named the ITA Central Region Player to Watch for the first time in her career.
LOBOS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: Several players have represented the Lobos at the NCAA Individual tournament. Here is a breakdown of who has gone to the NCAA tournament for New Mexico:
Singles History
1984- Leanne Palmisano was the first Lobo singles player to compete at the NCAA Individual Championships.
1997-2000- In the spring of 1997, Ana Friganovic became the first freshman and the second UNM player to compete in singles at the NCAA Championships. She is the only player in UNM women’s tennis history to compete at the NCAA’s in all four years with New Mexico. Friganovic was also the first player to compete in both singles and doubles at the national tournament in one year (1999).
2004- Maja Kovacek became the third UNM women’s tennis player to compete in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships and only the second player to compete in both singles and doubles in one year.
Doubles History
1999- Ana Friganovic and Joanne Shortall became the first UNM doubles team to participate at the NCAA Individual Championships.
2004- Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski became UNM’s first women’s tennis doubles team to earn All-America honors after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. They were eventually eliminated in the semifinals, making them the only Lobo pair to make it that far in the championship.
2004 All-American doubles team of Sandy Lukowski and Maja Kovacek |
2004 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Kovacek is no stranger to the NCAA tournament as she was a participant in singles and doubles last year. Biggest accomplishment at last season’s NCAA Championship was Kovacek’s and former Lobo player Sandy Lukowski’s doubles performances which earned them All-America honors, a first for UNM women’s tennis. Here are the singles and doubles results from last year’s tournament:
Singles Round of 64-
No. 74 Maja Kovacek (UNM) def. No. 37 Tammy Encina (Univ. of Tennessee) 2-6,6-3,6-2
Singles Round of 32-
No. 6 Julie Coin (Clemson) def. No. 74 Maja Kovacek (UNM) 6-3,6-0
Doubles Round of 32-
No. 8 Kovacek/Lukowski (UNM) def. No. 5 Hollands/Mlakar (Arizona) 7-6,6-0
Doubles Round of 16-
No. 8 Kovacek/Lukowski (UNM) def. Roland/Vieira (Texas A&M) 6-1,6-4
*Advancing to the quarterfinals gives doubles team All-America honors
Doubles Quarterfinals-
No. 8 Kovacek/Lukowski (UNM) def. No. 10 Carter/Sumantri (Washington) 7-5,6-4
Doubles Semifinals-
No. 32 Johnson/Kroh (Marshall) def. No. 8 Kovacek/Lukowski (UNM) 6-3,3-6,5-7
2005 NCAA INFO: For event schedules, tournament brackets, live scoring, final results and any other NCAA Championship information, visit www.georgiadogs.com or click on the NCAA women’s tennis championship logo located on the Lobo women’s tennis page at www.golobos.com.