May 24, 2005
ATHENS, GA.- The No. 4 UCLA doubles team of Daniela Bercek and Riza Zalameda defeated New Mexico’s No. 11 duo of Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic this afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Doubles Championship held at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. The match went into three intense sets with the UCLA team winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
With the first round match being against a No. 4 seeded UCLA tandem, New Mexico knew it was going to be a big challenge entering today’s match. UCLA’s Bercek already has a NCAA doubles championship title under her belt after winning the entire tournament last year with another UCLA teammate. Although a very hard pairing for a first round match, Kovacek and Gersic never went down without a fight as they stuck with the UCLA team to the very end. In the first set, the UNM tandem allowed UCLA to win 6-3, but rallied to win the second 7-5. By the third set, Kovacek and Gersic fell behind 0-2, but bounced back to tie it up at two. However, the UCLA team won four of the next five games to win the match.
Kovacek and Gersic finish the 2004-05 season with plenty to be proud about as they boast an overall record of 33-8 in doubles play and are the 2005 Mountain West Conference Co-Players of the Year. The duo was also nationally ranked as high as No. 4 this year, making the pair the highest ranked doubles team in the history of New Mexico women’s tennis.
The NCAA Doubles Championship marks the third and final national tournament Kovacek and Gersic have competed in as a doubles team for the 2004-05 season. During the fall, the pair competed at the prestigious ITA/Riviera All-American Championships and the ITA National Individual Indoor Championships. With the NCAA tournament behind them, the Lobo tandem has achieved a huge accomplishment by competing at all three of collegiate tennis’ premier events.
NCAA Singles Recap: Earlier in the day in singles action, Kovacek lost to No. 14-ranked Story Tweedie-Yates of TCU, 6-2, 7-6, in the women’s second round. Kovacek fell down 2-5 in the second set before battling back to tie the set at 5-5. After Tweedie-Yates went ahead 6-5, Kovacek forced a tiebreaker but ultimately fell in straight sets. The No. 45-ranked Kovacek ends the year with a singles record of 31-9. She is also the first UNM women’s tennis player to ever compete as a singles and a doubles player in two years at the NCAA Championship.
Today’s Doubles Results
No. 4 Daniela Bercek/Riza Zalameda (UCLA) def. No. 11 Maja Kovacek/Iva Gersic (UNM) 6-3,5-7,6-3