March 7, 2007
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THIS WEEK IN LOBO MEN’S TENNIS: New Mexico heads back to Boise, Idaho, for its second straight full weekend. The Lobos are slated to play three matches in two days, starting with Idaho on Friday at 9 a.m. They will start their match with Pacific, playing only singles Friday night at 6 p.m. They conclude with doubles action against Pacific on Saturday at 9 a.m. and wrap up the weekend with 27th-ranked Boise State at 1:30 p.m.
IN THE RANKINGS: The UNM men’s tennis team jumped eight spots in the Fila/ITA national rankings, coming in at No. 58 this week. Riding a three-match win streak, the Lobos have jumped ahead of their Mountain West Conference foes, boasting a .750 win percentage. They are the second highest ranked team in the conference, trailing BYU at No. 57.
The Lobos have a tough schedule ahead, facing four top-35 teams in the next three weeks. They start with 27th-ranked Boise State this Saturday, take on 14th-ranked Minnesota next Friday in Albuquerque and then are at 13th-ranked Texas March 24 and at 35th-ranked Texas A&M March 25.
REVIEWING THE VANDALS: Idaho is 2-6 overall and has lost two straight after a 6-1 defeat by Northern Arizona and a 5-2 loss to New Mexico State. The Vandals’ wins came at home over Northern Colorado (6-1) and Montana State-Billings (7-0).
Junior John Hieb, sophomore Timothy Huynh and frehsman Stanislav Glukhov lead Idaho. Hieb or Glukhov usually play at No. 1 singles while Glukhov regularly teams with Huynh at No. 1 doubles.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Pacific, which was ranked 75th as of Feb. 13, is 0-6 this season after losses to Oregon, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Nevada, Arkansas and Cal Poly. This weekend’s trip to Idaho is the Tigers’ only one outside of California.
Sophomore Moritz Starke has been a bight spot in the Tiger line-up, going 5-1 at No. 1 singles. Starke has also played all of the team’s doubles matches at No. 1, going 2-4 overall. His partner early this season was Vladimir Zdkavkovic (1-1), but he disappeared from the line-up after the UC Riverside match, posting an 0-2 record at No. 2 single. His newest partner, Vegerd Veskimagi, has filled in both spots, going 1-3 with Starke at No. 1 doubles and 0-5 at No. 2 singles.
BREAKING DOWN THE BRONCOS: Boise State is 11-4 overall, winning its last three matches. The Broncos have played a tough schedule, facing 12 ranked opponents, including four in the top-15.
Boise State is led by the Shields brothers, 14th-ranked Luke and 64th-ranked Clancy. Luke is 21-6 overall in singles, going 11-3 at No. 1. Clancy is 17-9 overall, posting an 8-3 record at No. 2
HISTORY LESSONS: New Mexico is 6-8 all-time against Boise State, having lost two straight, including a 5-0 loss at Boise on Jan. 20 in the championship match of the ITA Mountain Regional Team Playoffs. The last Lobo win was a 4-3 victory in Idaho in 2005. It is the fourth time is series history that the two teams have met twice in the same season. They met twice in 2004 with BSU winning both, and twice in 2002 and 1998, with the series splitting at 1-1.
Against Idaho and Pacific, the Lobos have fared much better. UNM has never lost to Idaho, going 2-0. The Lobos won 5-2 in 2001, playing the Vandals at Boise State, and 6-1 in 1998. They have also never lost to Pacific, winning the lone match, 5-4 in 1989 when head coach Alan Dils was a senior on the team.
PARKES PICKS UP AWARD: Junior Chris Parkes has been chosen as the Qwest Student Athlete of the Week, going undefeated over the weekend for the men’s tennis team. His success helped the Lobos cruise past in-state rival New Mexico State for the 85th time in the series history with a 6-1 win. Parkes also led New Mexico in the shutout (7-0) over Nevada and the come-from-behind victory (4-3) over No. 74 Sacramento State.
Parkes teamed with his younger brother, Johnny, for three wins at No. 2 doubles. On Friday their 8-4 win was the first of two, which gave UNM the doubles point. The Parkes’ 8-3 victory on Saturday was the first of three as the Lobos swept doubles competition. On Sunday, their 8-1 pounding over the Hornets was the lone doubles win for New Mexico. Now 6-1 overall, Parkes has won five consecutive doubles matches.
In singles, Parkes was nearly untouchable. He surrendered just one set to his New Mexico State opponent on Friday and blanked his Nevada opposition on Saturday. Sunday’s 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 6 pushed the Lobos ahead of Sacramento State after falling behind in doubles action. Parkes, 6-1 overall, is a perfect 4-0 this season when playing at No. 6.
BROTHERLY LOVE: Brothers Chris and Johnny Parkes paired at No. 2 doubles for three matches last weekend and showed their opponents no love. They went undefeated at 3-0, and got better as they went, winning 8-4 on Friday, 8-3 on Saturday and 8-1 on Sunday.
SOLID SIXES: The Lobos have been perfect at No. 6 singles through eight dual matches. Junior Chris Parkes is 4-0 when playing at that spot and freshman Joe Nicolazzi is 3-0.