April 21, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE — The tug on Lobo coach Kathy Kolankiewicz’s heart is getting stronger as the 24-year Lobo coach nears what could be her last competition as a Lobo – the Mountain West Conference Championships.
“I’ve been waking up thinking, `Wow, this is an interesting feeling,’ said Kolankiewicz, who will retire at the season’s end. “But I know I’m ready and it will probably be over before I know it.”
Kolankiewicz and the Lobos could extend the season this week at the MWC Championships to be held Thurday thru Saturday at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center in Albuquerque. But the Lobos are a long shot as is any team not named TCU or possibly UNLV.
“TCU is ranked in the Top 30 and they have been playing without their No. 1 player for the past eight weeks,” said Kolankiewicz. “She is back and she is ranked No. 12 in the country. That makes a huge difference in a lineup that already was strong.
“TCU took a 4-3 loss to UNLV without her and UNLV was our undefeated, regular-season champ at 8-0. Those two teams obviously are strong, but there also is a lot of equity in our field.”
Kolankiewicz said one of the more rewarding experiences as a coach is “to watch how the girls grow and develop on and off the court; watching them change from girls to adults and then watching how they contribute to society once they leave UNM.”
Of course, there is another feeling that a competitive coach learns to love, too. “I’ll miss a lot of things, but the best feeling is to go out and beat a really good team.”
Kolankiewicz and her Lobos will have that chance this week.
Lobos vs. Cougars: The University of New Mexico women’s tennis team is gearing up for the Mountain West Conference Tennis Championships. The championships will be held in Albuquerque at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center Wednesday through Saturday. The Lobos (9-13, 4-4) hold the fifth seed and are set to take on fourth seeded BYU (12-9, 5-3) on Thursday at 2 p.m.
Getting there: To get to the Jerry Cline Tennis Center from I-40 exit Louisiana and turn south, head one block to Constitution and turn left and the tennis courts will be on your left. Parking will be on the south and east sides of the facility for fans and on the north side for teams, staff and media. Tickets will be priced as follows:
AdultsTournament Pass – $10Single Day – $5
Students (18 and Under)Tournament Pass – $7Single Day – $3
New Mexico heads into the championships playing its best tennis of the year. UNM has won four of its last five matches and is coming off three straight conference wins over Wyoming (7-0), Air Force (7-0), and Colorado State (5-2).
The Lobos are led by seniors Ola Abou-Zekry and Mackenzie White, and sophomore Emma Hayman. Abou-Zekry has been playing at the No. 1 singles position most of year and ended the regular season conference with a 24-10 record. The Cairo, Egypt product is 23-1 throughout the entire season when she wins the first set and is 8-1 this spring when the team wins.
White has played consistently well at the No. 2 singles position with a regular season record of 20-10. The Mobile, Ala. native is 16-0 when she wins the first set.
Hayman is 20-13 on the season and during the spring spent most of her time at the No. 3 position. The Wanganui, New Zealand product is 17-0 when she wins the first set and is 8-5 when she splits sets.
Conference Play…
The Lobos are 4-4 in conference play this season. Abou-Zekry and Hayman share the team’s top record in MWC play at 7-1. White is right behind them at 6-2 and Maria Sotirchos has stepped up, going 4-1 during conference play.
Ashley Bonner and Anya Villanueva-Forte have won their last three matches in doubles play went 3-5 during conference with wins against Wyoming (8-7 (7-4)), Air Force (8-5), and Colorado State (8-2) after an 0-5 start.
Earlier This Season…New Mexico lost a heartbreaker to BYU on April 3 in San Diego, Calif. The Lobos fell 4-3 to the Cougars. Positions 1-3 were victorious in singles play.
Continuing To Climb…
Abou-Zekry and White continue to climb their way up the record books. White is currently tied for 13th place with Claudia Gutierrez on the most career singles wins. Abou-Zekry holds the seventh spot of the list with 82 singles wins. She also is tied with Claudia Gutierrez at No. 12 for the most combined singles and doubles wins in a career with 141.
Mountain West Player Of The Week…
Abou-Zekry was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on April 15. It’s the second time this season Abou-Zekry has won the award.
The Cairo, Egypt product went a combined 6-0 in singles and doubles play against Wyoming (7-0), Air Force (7-0) and Colorado State (5-2) and posted straight set wins against all three of her opponents at the No. 1 singles spot.
Academic Honors…
The women’s tennis team has always taken pride in their accomplishments off the court and this year is no exception. Seven out of the ten players are being honored Tuesday night at the Fidelity Investments UNM Scholar Athlete Banquet. To receive the honor athletes have to earn a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. Ola Abou-Zekry, Maria Sotirchos, Mackenzie White, Emma Hayman, Ashley Bonner, Victoria Tessmar, Eliane Bourdages and Manumea Durie are among those being honored.
Coaches Corner…
“Were excited to be playing in the MWC Championships in Albuquerque. Even though we are not on our home courts, we feel our fans will follow us no matter where we play. Drawing BYU first round is tough but we lost a close 4-3 match to them and we get to play them here so that could make the difference. The tournament is up for grabs, anyone of the top six seeds could win it.”