ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Fresno States Katharina Winterhalter was named the Western Athletic Conferences womens tennis Player of the Week. This is her first honor of the spring.
Winterhalter, a sophomore from Heitersheim, Germany went 3-0 in both singles and doubles as 13th-ranked Fresno State to three wins. The sophomore did not lose a set in three dual matches. The Bulldogs are now 13-2 this season. Most impressive among the wins was against Debbie Larocque of Arizona. Winterhalter won 7-6 (1), 7-5 and led the Bulldogs to a tight 4-3 win over the Wildcats in Tucson, Ariz. Winterhalter has won seven singles matches in a row and is 21-7 (11-3 dual). Her 21 overall victories is tops on the team.
In doubles action, the sophomore teamed with Lucia Sainz for three wins. The duo is now 17-5, 9-4 in dual matches and has won seven in a row. Their 8-2 win over Arizona's tandem of Larocque/Jakolew gave Fresno State the doubles point it needed in a 4-3 win.
OTHERS NOMINATED Lauren Archer, Rice and Ilona Sommers, Tulsa.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - The 64th ranked Boise State women's tennis team defeated Kansas in their final match in Hawaii by a score of 6-1. The Broncos now return home and next week host BYU and Rice in the Barbara Chandler Classic April 2-4.
Against Kansas, Boise State picked up doubles wins at the first position with Jemima Hayward and Erin Polowski, and at the second spot with Alissa Ayling and Megan Biorkman. In singles, Bronco victories came at one (Hayward), two (Polowski), four (Biorkman), five (Carolina Pongratz) and six (Tiffany Coll).
Fresno State - The fun gets underway Friday at 1 p.m. when the 10th-ranked Fresno State women's team (14-2) takes on Idaho at the Wathen Tennis Center. The Bulldogs have won eight consecutive matches and appear in the top 10 for just the third time in program history. They are 6-0 at home in 2004 and 62-7 since the opening of the Wathen Center in 1998.
On Saturday, the women return to the court for a contest against No. 60 Cal Poly at 1 p.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center. Following the match, the women's team will conduct another clinic, which is free and open to high school aged individuals. Following this weekend, the women play only one more match at home this season.
Hawaii - The University of Hawaii womens tennis team fell, 5-2, to the University of Kansas Jayhawks Wednesday afternoon, marking the squads sixth consecutive loss. The Rainbow Wahine dropped to 7-11 on the season .In singles action the Rainbow Wahine fought hard, but could not muster the wins they needed to come away with the victory. On the No. 1 court Lauren Fitzgerald lost her first set to Courtney Steinbock, 6-4, and pushed the second set to 6-all but failed to force a third set after dropping the tiebreaker 10-5. But the Rainbow Wahine did find victory in the No. 5 and 6 positions.Hawaii has now lost six-straight matches.
Louisiana Tech - Louisiana Tech picked up a historic win Wednesday as the Tennis Techsters took a 5-2 road win over Louisiana-Monroe at Heard Stadium. The win for Tech's first road win of the season and the Tennis Techsters have won three of their last four matches to push the team's record to 4-8 while ULM fell to 3-12. Heading into the match ULM led the series 42-1 and had not dropped a match to Tech since 1974. The Lady Indians had won 40 straight matches over the Techsters also never lost to Tech in Heard Stadium, which opened in 1976.
Nevada - The University of Nevada women's tennis team dropped its first match of the UC Irvine Spring Invitational Monday, when it lost 7-0 to the University of Idaho. Nevada (1-11) has now lost its last eight striaght, and will play the host UC Irvine next. Only one singles match went to three sets, the No. 6 spot. Tara Fielding beat Christine Tilley in the first match, 6-3, but Tilley came back, 6-1, but lost the third 6-4. Two other Pack players finished off hard, losing close final sets in 6-4. Myriam Bouchlaka lost her first set 6-1 against Jessica Hubbard at the No. 2 and Fiorella Velez dropped 6-2 in the first to Monica Martin at the three.
Rice -The 27th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs downed the Owls, 4-0 in dual match action at the Jake Hess Tennis Center. The Owls looked to their singles play for points, where sophomore Lauren Archer pulled through. The Rockville, Md. native, playing at the number two singles, defeated Jennifer Chay 7-6 (4), 2-6, 10-6 (super tie break) for Rices lone point. Blair DiSesa, battling Paty Aburto at number one, fell 7-6 (5), 6-1. Rice will next face BYU and Boise State, April 3-4 in Boise, Idaho. The Owls return home April 16 to face instate rival Texas-El Paso at the Jake Hess Tennis Center.
San Jose State - The San Jose State University womens tennis team defeated Southern Utah University, 6-1, on Saturday, March 27, at Spartan Courts. The Spartans swept all of the doubles matches and five out of the six singles matches. Freshman Courtney Koenigsfeld did not lose a point posting victorious scores of 6-0, 6-0 in the #4 singles slot. The only Spartan to lose was Rachel Pua, who lost in a 9-7 tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets.
SMU - SMU dropped to 12-8 on the year with a 5-2 loss at No. 45 Baylor. The match was played at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. SMU dominated play early, winning all three matches. Nadia Vaughan and Lynsie Jones got the good play rolling early with an 8-5 victory at No. 2 singles. Svetlana Kouzmenko and Allison Leuszler clinched the early lead for the Ponies with an 8-5 win as well at No. 3 doubles. Kit Carson and Jenny Langer capped it off, winning 9-7 to build momentum for the Mustangs. SMU's Jenny Langer continued the SMU momentum in singles, stretching the team's lead to 2-0 after a straight set 6-2, 6-1 dominating performance at No. 3 singles. Langer's win would be the last time SMU tasted victory the rest of the night. Baylor recorded straight set wins at No. 4, No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 singles to clinch the win. The Bears capped the night off with a three set win at No. 2, finishing the night with a 5-2 victory over SMU.
UTEP - No. 75 Texas Tech swept UTEP, 7-0, at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Texas. The Red Raiders took the first two doubles matches to take the 1-0 lead going into singles. The tandem of Danielle King and Tea Spirta improved their win streak to seven, defeating Hristiyana Gocheva and Lakann Wagley, 8-5. The win improves their record to 11-3 at the No. 3 spot, 6-1 in the southwest region. The Miners dropped six singles matches to give Texas Tech the win. The Miners (9-7) are off until April 2, when they face I-10 rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces for the second time this season. The Miners won the first match 5-2 in El Paso.
Tulsa - Tulsa netted a 5-2 victory over 75th-ranked Houston on Wednesday afternoon at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on The University of Tulsa campus. In singles play, TU's 75th-ranked Daniela Muscolino recorded a 6-3, 6-1 win over Foley in the No. 1 slot, as 86th-ranked Somers tallied a 6-1, 6-0 victory in the No. 2 position. Donata Majauskaite also chalked up a quick 6-0, 6-0 mark for the Golden Hurricane in the No. 3 slot. Pereira earned a 6-2, 6-1 win in the No. 4 position, but Timberly Greenly fell 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 5 slot. Delport posted a 6-7, 7-6, 10-4 comeback victory in the No. 6 position.
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.