March 17, 2009
The University of New Mexico women’s tennis team heads to sunny San Diego to take part in the Barnes Collegiate Invitational at the University of San Diego. The Lobos will begin play on Wednesday, taking on No. 44 Mississippi at the USD West Tennis Courts starting at 10:30 a.m. (Mountain Standard).
San Diego, Texas Tech, Northern Arizona, New Mexico State, Utah, and UT-Arlington will all be in attendance. The Lobos will face either San Diego or UT-Arlington on Thursday. The seeding was based off each team’s current rankings and arranged so teams that have already played each other or that will meet in the future wouldn’t play each other in this tournament.
Up Next For The Lobos…Mississippi (5-5) is coming off a 4-3 loss to Auburn on March 15 in Oxford, Miss. Earlier in the weekend, Ole Miss upset No. 16 Alabama, 5-2.
The Rebels are coached by Mark Beyers, who has compiled a 68-88 record during his seven-year tenure at Mississippi. Ole Miss returns four letterwinners from last year’s 7-15 team (fourth in the SEC). Including No. 36 Kristi Boxx and No. 70 Karen Nijssen.
What Happened Last?The last time these two teams met the Lobos fell 8-1 to the Rebels in Oxford, Miss. on Jan. 30, 2000. New Mexico has a 0-2 all-time record against the Rebels.
Last Time Out…The Lobos are coming off a 5-2 loss to No. 69 Wichita State. Senior Ola Abou-Zekry earned her 64th career singles win, moving to No. 16 on the career singles wins list at New Mexico. Abou-Zekry defeated Anna Egorova, 7-5, 6-3.
Mackenzie White also captured a win, defeating Stephanie Dalmaci, 6-4, 6-1.
Strength of Schedule…Lobos have started out with a very tough schedule. New Mexico has already played four teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year. Six opponents are ranked in the top 50 of the ITA poll and nine finished the 2008 season with winning records.
National Spotlight…The Mountain West Conference has two teams in the top 50 on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. SDSU comes in on top at No. 25, TCU at No. 28 next Utah at No. 53 and BYU lands at No. 70.
On The Rise…Senior Ola Abou-Zekry broke into the top 16 of most career singles wins in a career with her win against Wichita State.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz now has 349 career wins under her belt and will be looking for her 350 this weekend.
Did You Know… Six of the ten players on the roster are international. Two of the players are native New Mexicans. This past summer all of courts (indoor and out) were resurfaced along with the indoor courts all receiving new hardware. The Lobos have had a winning record for the past 12 years. The Lobos earned a 3.65 GPA for the 2007-2008 school year. Seniors Ola Abou-Zekry, Maria Sotirchos and Mackenzie White all received above a 4.0 for the 2008 fall semester.