ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Tulsa's Donata Majauskaite was named the Western Athletic Conference's first women's tennis Player of the Week of the spring season.
Majauskaite, a senior from Ingalino, Lithuania, posted a 2-0 singles mark and a 1-0 doubles record this week. In singles competition, she posted a 6-2, 7-5, win in the No. 2 position over Saint Louis' Katerina Lozanova, and a 6-1, 6-2, mark over Oral Roberts' Jennifer Helm in the top singles slot. Majauskaite owns a 9-3 overall singles record.
In doubles competition, Majauskaite teamed up with freshman Santie Delport to record an 8-1 victory over ORU's Rachel Budd and Jacquelyn Robles. This was the first time the Tulsa tandem were paired together.
OTHERS NOMINATED - Jelena Pandzic, Fresno State; Anabella Duque, Louisiana Tech and Yasmin Fisher, Rice.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - The Broncos play their first home matches of the 2004 spring season with Utah, Cal State Northridge, Idaho and Lewis-Clark State joining the Broncos Friday through Sunday, Jan. 30 through Feb. 1 in the Boas Indoor Tennis Center for a number of matches. On Friday, Jan. 30: Utah will play Cal State Northridge at 10 a.m., followed by Lewis Clark State versus Cal State Northridge at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 31: Boise State will play Lewis-Clark State at 9:30 a.m.; at 1 p.m. Utah will play Idaho; followed by Boise State versus Cal State Northridge at 5 p.m. On Sunday, Feb.1: Idaho will play Cal State Northridge at 9 a.m., and Boise State will play Utah at 1 p.m. to close out the weekend.
Fresno State - The Fresno State women's tennis team stayed at No. 20 while the men's team dropped one spot to No. 37 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The women are 1-0 after winning their opening dual match of the season 5-2 over No. 58 TCU. The Bulldogs have a very tough road ahead of them, however. Their next match comes Feb. 13 at No. 11 UCLA, which begins a string of seven consecutive matches against nationally ranked opponents, each coming away from Fresno. During the stretch, Fresno State also plays No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 California, No. 26 Tulane, No. 37 UNLV, No. 38 Oklahoma State and No. 42 Pepperdine.
vHawaii - The Rainbow Wahine began dual competition on Jan. 29 against WAC opponent San Jose State. Hawaii will then take on Stanford. Both matches are on the road.
Louisiana Tech - The Lady Techsters found rough going at No. 49 Louisiana State on Jan. 28 as the Tigers defeated Louisiana Tech 7-0. La. Tech fell to 1-2 on the season while LSU is now 3-0.
Nevada - The Wolf Pack ended last week 0-2 as they fell to Sac State on Jan. 25, 7-0. The two teams faced off at the campus of Portland, where the Hornets also defeated the hosting Pilots Sunday. The weekend also saw Nevada lose 7-0 to Oregon in the first weekend of action for the team this season.
San Jose State - The Spartans open the spring season against WAC foe Hawaii at home on Jan. 29.
SMU - The Mustangs made quick work of Lamar on Jan. 18, downing the Cardinals 7-0 to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Mustangs started quickly, taking the doubles point with victories at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 position. Svetlana Kouzmenko and Kit Carson built up early momentum with a convincing 8-1 victory at the No. 1 slot. The Mustangs quickly won at No. 2 and No. 3 to open up an early 1-0 lead.
UTEP - The Miners begin the 2004 season in San Antonio with matches against UT-San Antonion and UT-Pan American on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7.
Tulsa - The 50th-ranked Tulsa team will take on WAC rival SMU on Friday, Jan. 30th. The match is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. in the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. In Friday's match-up, TU's 32nd-ranked doubles tandem, Daniela Muscolino and Ilona Somers, look to lead the Golden Hurricane in the early conference battle.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN HOUSTON This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Houston, Texas at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the campus of Rice University, April 30-May 2. The 2003 champion, Fresno State, will look to win its third-straight title.