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Weekly Women's Tennis Notes.pdf
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Nevada's Vania Apodaca, a junior from Reno, Nev., improved to 11-4 this season at the No. 1 singles spot with a perfect weekend against three WAC teams. Against Hawaii, San Jose State and UTEP, Apodaca didnt suffer a loss in three singles and doubles matches. She lost just one of seven singles sets averaging a 6-2 advantage per set.
OTHERS NOMINATED - Kirsty McRae of Fresno State cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles as the 21st-ranked Bulldogs won their fifth in a row ... Daniela Muscolino of Tulsa netted three singles wins and two doubles wins as she helped her team to a 2-1 record.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUEBoise State - The Broncos finished their regular season 15-5, 3-1 in the WAC, falling to Tulsa, 4-3. Boise State plays host to the 2003 WAC Tournament, beginning Apr. 25. Sophomore Carolina Pongratz leads the WAC, picking up 19 dual wins in 2003, 12 at the No. 6 spot. Boise State is currently the only team with three athletes over 15 wins; Alissa Ayling, Erin Polowski and Pongratz.
Fresno State - Fresno State closes out the regular season at home against Utah. The 21st-ranked Bulldogs (12-7) are 16-1 at the Wathen Tennis Center since the start of last year. The Bulldogs won their fifth in a row last week by breezing past Pacific 7-0. The winning streak is Fresno States longest of the season. Sophomore Chloe Carlotti (17-2) remains ranked in ITAs top-10, coming in eighth.
Hawaii - The Rainbow Wahine traveled to Reno for three conference matches preparing for the conference tournament. Hawaii, fell to UTEP and Nevada, 4-3, but picked up its 10th win of the season against San Jose State, 6-1. With their regular season over, they will travel to Boise for the WAC Championship.
Louisiana Tech - The Lady Techsters were off last week, but will face Louisiana-Monroe and Northwestern State at home, and SMU in Dallas to conclude their season. La Tech needs these matches to help prepare for the conference tournament as the Techsters have had four matches cancelled in 2003.
Nevada - The Wolf Pack hosted Hawaii, San Jose State and UTEP in preperation for the conference tournament. Nevada went 2-1, picking up wins over San Jose State and Hawaii, but falling to UTEP. After losing its first six matches, Nevada closed strong winning six of nine.
Rice - The Owls suffered a pair of defeats, falling to city rival Houston, 4-1 and Texas A&M, 6-1. Rice looks to get back on track for the WAC Tournament, after dropping its last four matches.
San Jose State - The Spartans traveled to Reno for matches with three conference foes. San Jose State fell to Nevada, 5-2 and Hawaii, 6-1. Their match with UTEP was cancelled due to weather. The Spartans will return home to conclude their season, facing Pacific and Sac State.
SMU - The Mustangs look to get back to their winning ways, after dropping two last week at the hands of TCU (4-3) and Oklahoma (6-1). SMU faces North Texas and Tulsa before traveling to Boise for the conference tournament. Freshman Svetlana Kouzmenko leads the Ponies with 17 dual wins.
UTEP - The Miners picked up their first two conference wins of the season, defeating Hawaii (4-3) and Nevada (6-1). UTEP will conclude its regular season facing I-10 rival, New Mexico State, Apr. 16.
Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane picked up their first conference win of the season, defeating Boise State, 4-3. Tulsa will face SMU in its only other regular season conference match up before the WAC Championship. Alicia Pillay is still ranked in the ITAs top-30 singles players, coming in 28th.
2003 WAC TOURNAMENT The 2003 WAC Tournament begins April 25, with the championship match on Sunday, April 27. This years tournament will be played at the Appleton Tennis Courts on the campus of Boise State. The 2002 champion Fresno State Bulldogs will look to defend their title.
ITA RANKINGS - Fresno State is currently ranked 21st in the nation, the highest WAC team. Tulsa is 42nd, while Boise State is currently 58th. Fresno State sophomore, Chloe Carlotti remains the eighth-ranked player in the nation with the release of the April 9th ITA rankings, marking her highest ranking during her career. Tulsa senior Alicia Pillay fell to 26th in the nation.
How an Average is Determined - A player/team's average is determined from the total number of ranking points (from 8 best singles wins/7 best doubles wins) divided by the number of countable matches played (countable victories (8 this week for singles/7 for doubles) added to points from all losses). There are no changes to the points/formula used from last season, with the exception that 8 wins were counted rather than 7 for this ranking.