ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Head coach Erica Jasper and her young squad had an impressive showing in the 2013-14 season as they claimed the Mountain West Mountain Division regular season title, tallied the most program wins (17) in ten years, and also gave the Lobos their first Mountain West Conference Championship finals appearance in ten years.
And with six of those players returning this season, Jasper and her Lobos are looking to carry that momentum into 2015.
Jasper and associate head coach Kelcy McKenna head into their third season at the University of New Mexico with the ambition to continue building on the great success that they have created in a short amount of time.
2015 Roster
The aces of the staff are gone as the Lobos’ number one and number two singles players from last season are not returning. Four-year letterman Michaela Bezdickova graduated last May and the 2014 MW Co-Freshman of the Year Lizette Blankers returned to her home country to focus on medical school.
But, Jasper isn’t worried about the quality of talent her Lobos will take to the court in 2015. Her Lobos are still loaded.
Among the returning Lobos are: Natasha Smith (senior), Meredith Hopson (sophomore), Dominique Dulski (sophomore), Emily Olivier (sophomore), Susan Baklini (sophomore), and Rachana Bhat (sophomore).
And even with only one senior leading the young pack, experience is not an issue for this team. All of the returners saw a lot of court time last season and all of them finished with a winning record.
These Lobos accomplished a lot last season especially for a team made up primarily of freshmen. Just to name a few achievements: the Lobos claimed a second place conference finish, Hopson earned a No. 20 regional singles ranking to finish the season while Smith and Dulski teamed up for a No. 9 regional doubles ranking, Smith earned a MW Player of the Week award, and Bhat tallied an impressive 26-4 singles record including a perfect 16-0 regular season record.
Jasper certainly recognizes the talent and effort that Bhat brings to the lineup.
“Rachana Bhat continues to impress with her smart, savvy play,” Jasper said. “Rachana is a winner and a fan favorite; it will be fun to see her as she continues to work and improve this spring.”
Yet, while Jasper and McKenna will look to these returners to guide the team through the upcoming season, they will also be looking at the three newcomers for contributions.
Sharon Coone (Sint Jansteen, Netherlands) and Dalina Dahlmans (Hillensberg, Germany) account for the freshmen on the 2014-15 Lobo lineup while Louisiana State transfer Gabrielle Otero (Albuquerque, N.M.) joins the Lobos as a sophomore.
Otero returned to her hometown to join the team in the early fall and brought with her a wealth of skill and experience. However, Otero has recently been struggling with injuries and her playing status for the upcoming season is still up for debate.
“It is still too early to tell whether she will be able to return to play for us this spring, but she has been working exceptionally hard on her rehab, and we are really proud of her efforts,” Jasper said. “Obviously she was having a strong fall before going down with a wrist injury. Gabby brings a special fight and positive energy to practice that makes our team better so in or out of the line up she is still an impact player.”
She is not the only Otero joining the Lobos this season as her father and Lobo tennis alumni Steve Otero will serve as the team’s volunteer assistant.
Fall 2014
The Lobos had an exciting fall season and it certainly gave Jasper and McKenna a good idea of what they can expect to see this spring.
Otero got off to a strong start in her first ITA event competing as a Lobo. The sophomore transfer made it to the third round of pre-qualifying play at the 2014 ITA All-American Championships. Hopson also earned a spot at the All-American event. She fell in a close match in the first round of pre-qualifying singles action.
Teammates Dulski and Smith also saw success at the ITA All-Americans as they made it to the second round of qualifying doubles play before falling in a tight match to Miami.
“Although both were a bit limited this fall with some injuries, both Natasha Smith and Meredith Hopson have returned to campus playing really good tennis,” Jasper said. “Both are tremendous fighters; we’ll look to them to lead up at the top of our line-up.”
The Lobos’ fall season was also highlighted by ITA Regional action. UNM, who hosted the five-day tournament, was led by Olivier who made a deep run in the singles draw. The Lobo sophomore made it to the quarterfinals where she fell to the No. 7 seed. Olivier claimed an upset victory over the No. 2 seed Julyette Steur of Colorado along the way.
“Emily Olivier really put together an impressive fall,” Jasper added. “Last spring Emily slid out of our top 6, so to see her go from that to one of the top players in our region and to start the spring with a national ranking is awesome and a credit to a lot of work Emily put in on the court and in the weight room this summer and fall.”
ITA Preseason Rankings
Olivier’s regional run allowed her to gain national recognition in the ITA preseason rankings that were recently released. Olivier, the only UNM player to earn a national ranking, comes in at No. 75 in the singles rankings.
She also claimed a Mountain region singles ranking of No. 6 and is joined by Smith (No. 13) and Dulski (No. 15). The Lobos’ three ranked individuals is more than any other MW conference opponent.
2015 Schedule
Non-Conference
The unranked Lobos have a tough schedule ahead of them as they face nine ranked opponents in the non-conference season including six top-fifty teams. However, the underdog role may be fitting for this Lobo lineup that will be hungry for some upset victories.
“I’m really excited about the spring season,” Jasper said. “We’ve put together a challenging non-conference schedule that will hopefully prepare us for our conference matches and provide us opportunities to make an impact nationally.”
The Lobos kickoff the season at the Beach Winter Invite being hosted by No. 41 Long Beach State Jan 16-18. UNM will compete in a round-robin style tournament against LBSU, Portland, and Cal State Northridge over the course of the weekend.
UNM then returns home to host eight consecutive matches highlighted by match ups against No. 74 Kansas, No. 23 South Carolina, No. 37 Houston, and No. 66 North Texas.
The Lobos will then have their road skills tested as they travel for six straight road matches including matches against: No. 65 Denver, Colorado, No. 44 Utah, No. 61 BYU, No. 19 Oklahoma State, and No. 24. Oklahoma.
Before heading into conference action, UNM will wrap up the non-conference season with matches against in-state rival New Mexico State, SMU, and Tulane.
Mountain West Conference
UNM’s conference schedule is highlighted by the fact that they get to play host to the 2015 Mountain West Championships at the new McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium April 22-26.
Yet, before the Lobos can focus on the conference tournament, they first have to handle the five regular season conference matches that their schedule holds.
The Lobos open conference play at home on April 2 against Utah State and close out the weekend on April 5 against Boise State.
UNM will wrap up the regular season with matches against Wyoming, Colorado State, and Air Force.
Season Synopsis
The Lobos’ schedule will certainly be an uphill climb, but Jasper’s lineup is ready for the challenge and prepared to make another run at the conference championship.
“The team has continued to impress me with their work ethic and their willingness to learn and improve. They are a really fun group to coach, and I can’t wait to see what the season has in store,” Jasper said.
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