June 3, 2005
Complete Season Review in PDF Format
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The 2004-05 season undoubtedly presented one of the toughest schedules the University of New Mexico women’s tennis team has ever faced. Nine players comprised this year’s roster including two talented newcomers, four experienced sophomores, one exceptional junior and two seniors eager to lead the team to another successful season.
LOBOS FALL INTO IT
With the fall portion of the schedule set with several invites and various tournaments, New Mexico had many great opportunities to train and prepare for the upcoming spring. The BYU fall invitational marked the beginning of the fall schedule for the Lobos in late September. The doubles team of junior Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic showed early signs of greatness as it took first place in flight one of doubles competition. In singles, Kovacek and Gersic shined on with first place finishes in their respective flights and freshman Jennifer Ryba showed her stuff with a first place finish in the sixth flight.
Earlier in September, Kovacek and Gersic received big news that they were selected to compete in the doubles main draw of 16 and the singles qualifying tournament of 64 at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships held every October in Pacific Palisades, Calif. With the invitation, the dynamic duo became the first UNM women’s tennis players to ever be seeded in the main draw at the All-American tournament.
In the singles qualifier, Kovacek won two rounds before falling in the final match. Gersic won her first round, but fell in the second.
The doubles team of Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic reached a national ranking as high as No. 4 this season and competed in all three national tennis events. |
The then ranked No. 11 UNM pair charged ahead in the doubles portion of the tournament as they took on a No. 8 team from Michigan in the first round and won 8-6. In the quarterfinals, the duo captured a huge upset over a No. 3 Kentucky team. With the victory in the quarterfinals, Kovacek and Gersic not only advanced to the semifinals in the main draw of 16, a first for New Mexico, but also earned an automatic bid to the ITA Individual National Indoor Championships which is the second big national collegiate tennis event held every year.
At the same time Kovacek and Gersic were competing at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, the rest of the UNM squad was competing at the Air Force fall invite in Colorado Springs, Colo. While there, UNM gave other Mountain West Conference opponents a glimpse of what to expect in spring play as it advanced three singles players to the final rounds of their flights and showed unshakable strength in doubles competition. Freshman Lucy Scott was the Lobo to come out victorious among the three finalists as she clinched a key win for the Lobos to win the entire flight three singles.
Next up for several Lobos, was the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships held at the University of Tulsa. The Lobos had six singles players and three doubles teams participate in the tournament. Sophomore Nora Quintal and freshmen Scott and Ryba represented UNM in the singles qualifying portion while senior Michelle Heidbrink, Kovacek and Gersic entered the tournament as main draw participants. The doubles teams of Kovacek and Gersic, Heidbrink and Scott, and Quintal and Ryba qualified to compete in the main draw of doubles competition as well.
Quintal and Scott advanced from the qualifying round of 64 in singles to join the original three Lobos in the main draw. Out of the five UNM players in the first round, Gersic, Quintal, Kovacek and Scott advanced to the round of 32. From there, Gersic and Kovacek moved on to the quarterfinals and semifinals before ending their hot streak. In doubles, Heidbrink and Scott made it past the first round before falling in the round of 32 while Kovacek and Gersic advanced all the way to the quarterfinals.
After a great showing at the regional tournament, New Mexico was chosen by the ITA Central Region Committee to host the Central Regional Team Playoffs for the first time ever. The playoff was to determine which team from the region would receive the highly coveted bid to the National Team Indoor Championships held in February.
The Lobos welcomed Tulsa, BYU and Colorado to the Lobo Tennis Club for the four team playoff. New Mexico dominated, defeating Tulsa in its first match and BYU in the final to win the entire playoff and the bid to the indoor championships, another first for New Mexico.
The individual indoor championship was up first for the doubles team of Kovacek and Gersic though as they traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. in November for the big event. In the first round, the Lobo tandem fell to a Miami pair, sending them to the consolation bracket for the remainder of the tournament. The loss was tough for the duo at first, but the two regrouped and ripped through the consolation contenders, defeating a No. 3, No. 2 and a No. 24 ranked doubles team to place first out of the entire consolation bracket.
With everyone back in Albuquerque, the team finished up the fall season with its own New Mexico fall invitational. UNM scheduled a relaxed competition with two other teams, New Mexico State and San Diego.
Several Lobos scored a spot in the fall Central Regional rankings. The highest ranking came from the doubles team of Kovacek and Gersic as they were picked as the No. 1 team in the region. Heidbrink and Scott received a No. 15 doubles ranking.
In singles, Kovacek was ranked No. 2 while Gersic finished the fall season at No. 4 in the region.
LOBOS SPRING INTO THE NEW YEAR
One of the best ways to start regular season spring play is to enter the new year with a brand new ranking. The ITA released its first ranking of the season on Jan. 11 and the Lobos had plenty to be happy about as they rang in the 2005 season as the 24th-nationally ranked team.
In the individual rankings, Kovacek, who started off No. 41 in the preseason, earned the highest singles ranking in UNM women’s tennis history and a personal best with a No. 24 standing. She passed former New Mexico women’s player Chris Hoffee who was ranked No. 33 in 1988. Gersic was also ranked No. 66 as a singles player.
The duo of Kovacek and Gersic undeniably had a successful fall season and was expected to receive a high ranking. The pair ranked in at No. 4 in the nation to kickoff the season, the highest ranking UNM women’s tennis has ever seen.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz with senior Michelle Heidbrink. Heidbrink broke the all-time record for most career doubles wins at UNM after capturing her 87th victory during regular season play. Kovacek also broke the same record after collecting her 87th win as well. |
With several new national rankings, New Mexico prepared for its first test of the spring season as it set its sites on Arizona State. Unfortunately persistent rain in Tempe, Ariz. forced match cancellation. The Lobos were hoping to play in one dual match before traveling to the indoor championships, but with the canceled match against ASU New Mexico was faced with a tough season opener.
At the National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis., New Mexico kicked-off the first round against No. 11 Washington. UNM fell 6-1 and dropped down to the consolation bracket where it lost two more matches against No. 5 Northwestern and No. 48 Wisconsin. Not the kind of start New Mexico wanted to the season, but UNM’s head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz was glad the team had the opportunity to play at such a highly competitive tournament.
The slow start to the season didn’t faze the Lobos for too long as they were back on the road the next weekend to face Middle Tennessee State and No. 75 Louisville. New Mexico returned to the win column after defeating both teams and headed back home for the following weekend with renewed confidence.
In their first home matches of the season, the No. 33 Lobos hosted Montana State and No. 24 Oklahoma. New Mexico swept Montana State and upset Oklahoma 6-1. Both victories extended New Mexico’s home winning streak to 20-0.
Another tournament was next for the squad the following week. UNM traveled to Las Vegas, Nev. to participate in the UNLV spring invite where No. 15 Tulane, No. 21 Fresno State, No. 48 UNLV, Cal State Northridge, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Northern Arizona were also scheduled to compete.
In the first round, then ranked No. 30 New Mexico defeated Texas Tech 5-2. The Lobos advanced to the second round to face No. 15 Tulane. The match was close, but Tulane came out on top with a 4-3 victory. The Lobos claimed fourth place in the tournament after falling to No. 21 Fresno State 4-3 in their final match.
New Mexico continued to roll with the punches as it remained on the road the next weekend. At Denver, Colo., the Lobos fell in a tough match to No. 63 Denver 5-2. In the match against Colorado the next day, the Lobos salvaged a 6-1 win over the Buffaloes to return home with a 6-6 record.
Back at the Lobo Tennis Club, New Mexico played host to its last three non-conference opponents of the season, New Mexico State, No. 53 Tulsa and No. 39 Sacramento State. Up first was in-state rival NMSU. The Lobos downed the Aggies in dominant fashion with a 6-1 take down. The Lobos then faced a tougher Tulsa team, but proved to still have the winning edge by defeating the Golden Hurricanes 5-2. The last non-conference match came down to a first time meeting with Sacramento State. The California team made the Lobos work hard as the two battled it out. Sacramento State managed to squeak by in the end, pulling out a close 4-3 victory. The loss ended a 22 match winning streak the Lobos had going over the last three years.
Both coaches at UNM had individual success this season. Assistant coach Roy Canada was honored by the ITA as the 2005 Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year and Kolankiewicz hit a milestone in her career as she earned her 300th win as head coach at New Mexico. |
With the non-conference portion of the schedule behind them, the Lobos entered conference competition with much enthusiasm. New Mexico, 8-7 going into MWC play, faced two tough matches right from the start in San Diego State and UNLV. Both teams carried higher rankings than New Mexico for most of the season and were expected to be two of the hardest teams to beat in the conference. At the time of the matches, New Mexico was ranked No. 48 while SDSU was No. 33 and UNLV was No. 35. In the match against the Aztecs, the Lobos delivered a dominating performance, defeating SDSU 5-2. The confident New Mexico team then met up with UNLV the following day to try to cap the weekend with a big win. The Lobos did just that as they defeated UNLV 4-3, giving the squad two important upsets and Kolankiewicz her 300th career win. Another notable accomplishment made during the UNLV match was then No. 61 Kovacek’s upset over UNLV’s No. 22 freshman Elena Gantcheva at the No. 1 singles position.
The Lobos then went on to storm Colorado State and Wyoming while on the road, winning both matches to bump the team up to a perfect 4-0 conference record.
BYU and Utah were next for New Mexico. Then ranked No. 26 in the nation, BYU was also expected to be a major challenge for New Mexico to overcome. The match was close, but BYU pulled out the victory, causing the Lobos to suffer their first loss in conference action. In the match against Utah, New Mexico rebounded in a big way by sweeping the Utes 7-0. Also in the game against Utah, Kovacek broke the all-time UNM women’s tennis record of 84 career doubles wins after winning her match at No. 1 doubles. Senior Michelle Heidbrink followed Kovacek in the record book as she captured her 84th career doubles win in the same match against Utah. (Later on, Heidbrink would tie Kovacek as the player with the most career doubles wins as both ended up capturing their 87th win to end the season).
Last regular season match was played back at home in Albuquerque. The Lobos entered their last match against Air force with a 5-1 conference record. New Mexico defeated the Falcons and claimed a second place finish in the conference with a 6-1 record, behind BYU’s 7-0 finish.
POSTSEASON COMPETITION MARKS THE END
The night before the MWC Championship in San Diego, Calif. several Lobos were awarded for their talented performances throughout the season. Biggest award came to Kovacek and Gersic who were honored with the MWC Co-Players of the Year award. Both were also given a spot on the singles and doubles all-mwc teams. Heidbrink also made singles all-mwc and doubles with partner senior Tiffany Robertson.
New Mexico entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and were slated to face No. 7 seed Wyoming in the first round. The Lobos defeated the Cowgirls 4-0 to advance to the semifinal match against No. 3 seed UNLV. The Rebels, well on their game, scored a 4-2 upset over UNM, forcing it out of the tournament.
Unfortunately, the Lobos as a team did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Team Championships. New Mexico did receive a final national ranking of No. 50, making it the eleventh consecutive year it has ended the season nationally ranked among the top-60.
Kovacek and Gersic were selected to compete in the individual NCAA tournament in Athens, Ga. Kovacek earned an automatic bid to the singles field as well as a bid to the doubles portion of the championship with teammate Gersic, making her the first UNM women’s tennis player to be an NCAA participant in singles and doubles for two years straight.
While at the tournament in Athens, Kovacek won her first round match against No. 72 Iryna Tkachenko of Oklahoma State, but fell in the second round to TCU’s No. 9-16 seed Story Tweedie-Yates. Kovacek then went on to join Gersic for the doubles tournament where they were faced with a very talented No. 4 seeded UCLA team in the first round. The duo fought hard against the veteran UCLA pair, but could not find enough to pull the upset.
Although Kovacek’s and Gersic’s trip to the NCAA Championship was cut short, the duo made a huge accomplishment by making it to the third and final national event to complete the circuit of prestigious tournaments (ITA/Riviera All-American, National Indoor Championship and NCAA Championship) played throughout the fall and spring seasons. The duo also received a final ranking of No. 12 and both were ranked in singles as well with Kovacek earning a final ranking at No. 51 and Gersic at No. 75.
Kovacek was honored by the ITA as the Central Region Player to Watch for the first time in her career. |
In the final central region rankings, Kovacek was ranked second as a singles player while Gersic was ranked as the No. 5 player. The two also ranked as the No. 1 central regional doubles team followed by the senior pair of Heidbrink and Robertson who were ranked No. 13. As a team, New Mexico finished the season fourth in the central region.
More awards were also passed on to two New Mexico individuals at the end of the season. Assistant coach Roy Canada was honored by the ITA as the 2005 ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year and Kovacek received the ITA Player to Watch for the central region.
It was a trying season for the Lobos, but one that produced many firsts in UNM women’s tennis. Not only did the New Mexico squad earn national respect for its talented roster, but it also proved it can compete among the best in collegiate tennis.
New Mexico is a team that remains strong and consistent in everything it does. This season was no different for the Lobos as they maintained their reputation for being one of the top teams in the conference.
From being ranked among the top-25 at the beginning of 2005 to finishing second overall in the MWC, the Lobos look forward to seeing even more success in the seasons to come.
Week-By-Week Team National Rankings
Jan. 11: No. 24
Feb. 1: No. 24
Feb. 8: No. 32
Feb. 15: No. 33
Feb. 22: No. 30
March 2: No. 32
March 8: No. 46
March 15: No. 47
March 22: No. 48
March 29: No. 37
April 5: No. 41
April 12: No. 41
April 19: No. 47
April 26: No. 48
May 2: No. 49
May 26: No. 50 (Final)
Week-By-Week Individual National Rankings
Singles
Maja Kovacek
Jan. 11: 24
Feb. 22: 35
March 8: 66
March 22: 61
April 5: 48
April 19: 47
April 26: 46
May 2: 45
June 3: 51 (Final)
Iva Gersic
Jan. 11: 66
Feb. 22: none
March 8: 56
March 22: 48
April 5: 69
April 19: 73
April 26: 85
May 2: 82
June 3: 75 (Final)
Doubles
Kovacek/Gersic
Jan. 11: 4
Feb. 22: 5
March 8: 9
March 22: 8
April 5: 9
April 19: 8
April 26: 8
May 2: 11
June 3: 12 (Final)
Final Central Regional Rankings
Team
1. BYU
2. Nebraska
3. Denver
4. New Mexico
5. Colorado
Singles
1. Gitte Ostermann, Nebraska
2. Maja Kovacek, New Mexico
3. Daniela Muscolino, Tulsa
4. Iryna Tkychenko, Oklahoma State
5. Iva Gersic, New Mexico
Doubles
1. Kovacek/Gersic, New Mexico
2. Dullens/Maksovik, Denver
3. Miccoli/Surkova, BYU
4. Sevcikova/Kramer, Missouri
5. Strandemo/Vanderdys, Colorado
13. Heidbrink/Robertson, New Mexico
2005 Awards and Honors
All-MWC Teams
Singles
Michelle Heidbrink, Sr.
Maja Kovacek, Jr.
Iva Gersic, So.
Doubles
Iva Gersic/Maja Kovacek
Michelle Heidbrink/Tiffany Robertson
MWC Weekly Honors
Feb. 23 – Sophomore Nora Quintal
March 30 – Junior Maja Kovacek
MWC Yearly Honors
Co-Players of the Year: Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic
ITA Central Regional Honors
Maja Kovacek – ITA Player to Watch
Roy Cañada – ITA Assistant Coach of the Year