Jan. 24, 2006
Jan. 28-29, 2006 – ON TAP THIS WEEKEND: The No. 64 ranked Lobos travel to Tusconto open their season against the No. 55 ranked Wildcats of Arizona andthe No. 69 ranked Montana State Bobcats. Both of the matches will beheld at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on saturday and sunday.
ARIZONA AT A GLANCE: The Wildcats are comming off a 8-12 seasonin which they finnished 7th in the Pac-10. Last years meeting betweenthese two teams was cancelled due to the heavy rains in Californiawhere the match was scheduled to be played. Arizona is 40-9 alltime versus the Lobos including a victory the last time these teams metin 1996. Roger Matalonga is ranked No. 18 nationally in singles whileMatalonga and Daniel Andrus are the No. 26 ranked doubles team.Arizona opens their season on January 27, against Montana State inTuscon.
A BRIEFING ON THE BOBCATS: The Bobcats return five lettermenfrom a team that went 19-7 and was undefeated in Big Sky play. TheLobos and Bobcats have met only once before and UNM won that match.The Bobcats do not have any nationally ranked players. Montana Stateopens their season on January 27, against Arizona in Tuscon.ON THE ROSTER: The Lobos have a talented group of freshmen tojoin the four returning letermen. UNM has one senior Eric Conklin, threesophmores Max Jones, Derek Lynch, and Kamil Pajikowski, and fourfreshman, Chandler Brass, Miles Bugby, Graeme Kassautzki, andJohnny Parkes. The UNM tennis team is coached by head coach AlanDils who is entering his tenth year with the Lobos and assistant coachLoren Dils who is also entering his tenth year. Andrew Irving is a volunteerassistant while Ryan Stotland is servig as the Undergrad assistant.The team graduated three seniors Derek Boland, David Kowalski, andRyan Stotland.
SCHEDULE: UNM will have plenty of tests early as the Lobos play anexciting schedule in 2006. The Lobos will host 11 matches this season,including three of the six conference matches on their schedule. Everyteam in the Mountain West Confrence with the exception of Air Forceshould remain ranked nationally.Coach Dils on the 2006 schedule.”Hopefully with the strength of our schedule, by the time we get to theMWC matches we will be tough mentally because we will need itplaying that caliber of teams on back to back weekends,” Dils said.”We want to win the MWC, go into the NCAA tournament and make itto the round of 16 or better,” Dils said. ” That is our goal every yearand this year is no exception. I feel like we have an excellent chanceto compete for the title again this year.”PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sophmore Max Jones won the MountainWest Confrence Freshman of The Year award in 2005 and wasnationaly ranked at No.97 this fall. Jones went a combined 12-9 in thefall in doubles and singles matches and is Coach Dils choice to playthe number one position.Freshman Graeme Kassautzki and Johnny Parkes were both impressivethis fall in individual competition. Kassautzki went 9-6 in his firstmatches at the college level in singles and 5-6 in doubles. Parkes went 9-5 in singles as well as a 6-6 mark in doubles. Parkes came on strong toward the end of the fall winning four of his last fivematches at the ITA Regional Championships.
Sophomore Kamil Pajikowski had a solid fall where he was an impresive 7-3 in doubles matches. Was a MWC all-doubles team selection with Max Jones in 2004-05.
Freshman Chandler Brass had the third most wins on the team witheight in the fall. Brass made it to the quarterfinals of the Denverinvitational and to the semifinals of the UNM Baloon Fiesta in flight B.
Senior Eric Conklin won the first two games he played this fall.Conklin made it to the quarterfinals at the Aggie Invitational as wel asadvancing to the round of 16 at the Denver Invitational and the BaloonFiesta. Conklin made the round of 16 with Kassautzki at the ITA Regional Championships.
NEW FACE: Joining the team this spring is Miles Bugby. Bugby played for Millfield School in Storrington, England where he guided his team to a third place finnish in nationals in 2003-04. Bugby teamed with current lobo Max Jones to make the quarterfinals of the 18-under British Nationals when Jones was still a prep player. An excellent athlete and more of an aggressive player, Bugby will need to learn to make the right plays at the right time but Dils likes his aggressiveness and his ability to serve andvolley. Bugby should see time at the number one or two doublesposition.
“His skills on the court, the aggressiveness and a very good serveusually leads to good doubles players so I think he will be there in the top two,” Dils said.
COMMING HOME: The Lobos will come home to face Boise State, Denver, and Colorado just to name a few. New Mexico was 4-1 last year at the UNM Tennis Complex.
