April 11, 2007
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THIS WEEK IN LOBO MEN’S TENNIS: New Mexico, ranked No. 46 with a 13-6 overall record, concludes Mountain West Conference regular season action this weekend with three matches in Fort Worth, Texas. The Lobos, 2-1 in the MWC, play UNLV on Friday, Air Force on Saturday and TCU on Sunday. All the matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT.
IN THE RANKINGS: The Lobos rose three spots in the latest FILA/ITA national rankings, going from No. 49 to No. 46. The current ranking is the highest in the Mountain West Conference, followed by San Diego State at No. 48, BYU at No. 70 and Utah at No. 72.
The Lobos don’t have any ranked singles or doubles players but will face a few this weekend in UNLV’s Elliot Wronski (No. 89) and TCU’s Cosmin Cotet (No. 109). Cotet also ranks No. 36 in doubles, pairing with Kriegler Brink. San Diego State’s Markus Dickhardt places the highest for the Mountain West, coming in at No. 30 in singles and No. 14 in doubles with Christian Groh.
LOOKING AT THE LOBOS: New Mexico, 13-6 overall, went 2-1 in Mountain West Conference action two weeks ago, taking last weekend off. The Lobos have been perfect at home (8-0) and at neutral sites (5-0) but they haven’t been able to win on opponents’ courts, going 0-6.
Four Lobos, junior Kamil Pajkowski and sophomores Miles Bugby, Graeme Kassautzki and Johnny Parkes, won a majority of their matches in singles, going 2-1. The trio of sophomores are all 14-6 in dual matches this season and are the only Lobos with 20 or more singles wins this season.
UNM has struggled in doubles lately, losing the doubles point in five straight and seven of its last nine. This past weekend the Lobos got just one doubles win each day as Parkes and Bugby won at No. 2 vs. BYU, Kassautzki and junior Chris Parkes won at No. 3 vs. SDSU, while Kassautzki and junior Max Jones won at No. 3 vs. Utah.
REVIEWING THE REBELS: UNLV, 8-12 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference as of April 10, has lost two straight and three of its last four. After facing the Lobos on Friday, the Rebels close the regular season with TCU and Air Force, respectively.
UNLV is led by 89th-ranked Elliot Wronski, who is 15-10 overall and 12-7 at No. 1 singles. However, Wronski has lost two straight and three of his last four. Brett Hunter is the Rebels usual No. 2 but is 8-13 overall, 5-11 in dual matches and has lost four straight and seven of his last eight.
The Rebels have used just six different pairing in doubles, including two at the No. 1 spot. Hunter and Wronski have all the wins at No. 1, going 5-8 while David Campbell and Slavko Bijelica are 0-4.
FOLLOWING THE FALCONS: Air Force, 11-12 overall and 0-3 in the MWC, has lost five straight heading into the weekend. The Falcons were shut out in all three conference matches last weekend, falling to San Diego State, BYU and Utah. They play TCU on Friday before taking on UNM Saturday.
Air Force is led by Robby Alexander at No. 1 singles, followed by Brett Rodgers and Mike Youn. Alexander is 13-17 overall and 9-12 at No. 1, losing three straight and four of his last five. Rodgers in 9-20 overall and 7-15 at No. 2, falling in his last five consecutive matches. Youn, 14-9 overall and 12-6 at No. 3, just had his eight-match win streak snapped on March 29 and hasn’t played since.
The Falcons usually stick with the same pairing in doubles action, sending Alexander and Ryan White out at No. 1, Rodgers and Youn at No. 2 and Keith Cronican and James Tomlin at No. 3. Rodgers and Youn have the only winning record of the three at 13-5 overall.
SCOUTING THE FROGS: TCU, 6-11 overall and 2-1 in the MWC, sits tied at second place in conference play with New Mexico heading into the weekend. The Horned Frogs have lost two straight, falling to 48th-ranked San Diego State and 45th-ranked Wisconsin, respectively. They face Air Force and UNLV, respectively, before concluding the season with the Lobos.
TCU is led in singles by 109th-ranked Cosmin Cotet, who is 12-13 overall, 7-9 in dual matches and 6-9 at No. 1. Chris Biro usually plays at No. 2 for the Frogs, posting their best dual match record at 10-6. His 14 overall wins this year is a team high.
Cotet teams with Kriegler Brink at No. 1 doubles, ranking No. 36 in the nation. The duo is 12-4 at No. 1, forming the only winning doubles team the Frogs have.
HISTORY LESSONS: New Mexico holds a 14-8 all-time series advantage over UNLV, winning five straight dating back to 2002. Last year the Lobos topped the Rebels 4-3, sweeping doubles play and getting key wins at No. 1 and 2 singles from Johnny Parkes and Max Jones. As a tandem, Jones and Kamil Pajkowski have never lost to UNLV in doubles, winning at No. 2 as freshmen and at No. 1 last year.
The Lobos also hold the all-time series lead with Air Force at 26-3. After UNM’s eight-match win streak over the Falcons was snapped in the MWC Championships in 2005, the Lobos rallied with a 6-1 win in conference play last year.
TCU is one of the few conference foes who hold a winning record against New Mexico. The Horned Frogs are 9-4 against the Lobos, winning the last six straight. TCU won last year, 5-2, in the programs’ first meeting since 2000. In last season’s match, the two UNM points came in singles from Jones and Pajkowski.
ROUGH ROAD: The Lobos may need to map out a new road to take when they play away from the UNM Tennis Complex. New Mexico, 8-0 at home this season, is 0-6 on the road this year. However, when they are at neutral locations, the Lobos are 5-0.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Usually, doubles play is one of the Lobo men’s tennis team’s forte. Lately, it has been a weakness. New Mexico has loss five consecutive doubles points, two of which were the deciding factor in the matches. When UNM wins the doubles point, it is 8-0. When the Lobos lose the point, they are 4-5.
FRIDAY NIGHT DELIGHT: Friday night seems to be New Mexico’s lucky night. When the Lobos play on Fridays, they are undefeated at 5-0. On Saturdays, UNM is 3-5. However, the Saturday losses can’t be blamed on Fridays. The three wins have all come when the team plays back-to-back days.
TALENTED TEAM: The Lobos are a solid team, having options for Nos. 1-6 in their singles line-up. Head coach Alan Dils has used at least two different guys in each position, including three different guys at Nos. 1, 3 and 6. He has also playing with the doubles pairings, using nine different tandems this season, including three different duos at No. 1.