ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Tulsas Daniela Muscolino was named the Western Athletic Conferences womens tennis Player of the Week. This is her third honor of the spring.
Muscolino, a sophomore from Buenos Aires, Argentina, chalked up a 2-0 singles mark, recording 6-1, 6-0 decisions. She posted one of only two points earned against 20th-ranked LSU, upsetting 50th-ranked Jessica Ferguson and netted a win against New Mexico States Isabelle Mignot. Muscolino owns a 21-7 overall singles record, including a 15-4 dual mark and a 5-2 record against ranked opponents. In doubles action, Muscolino teams with Ilona Somers for a No. 30 ITA doubles ranking, but the Tulsa duo fell 8-5 to the Tigers Rocio Fantilli and Lauren Seaman. Against the Aggies, Muscolino paired with Donata Majauskaite for just the second time this year, but also dropped a hard-fought battle, 8-6. With Somers, Muscolino owns a 17-13 overall record.
OTHERS NOMINATED Courtney Jantz, Fresno State and Blair DiSesa, Rice.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - In Boise State's final home match of the season, the Broncos defeated Weber State 7-0. Boise State swept all three doubles matches and then went on to sweep all six singles matches in straight sets. The Broncos' doubles line-ups were Jemima Hayward and Erin Polowski at No. 1, Alissa Ayling and Megan Biorkman at No. 2, and Carolina Pongratz and Tiffany Coll at No. 3. Boise State's winning singles line-up was Hayward at one, Polowski at two, Ayling at three, Biorkman at four, Pongratz at five and Anna Curtolo at six. Next up for the Boise State Broncos is the WAC Tournament, April 30 - May 2 in Houston.
Fresno State - Fresno State's loss to 38th-ranked Sacramento State brought an end to several winning streaks the team and players had going. Jelena Pandzic had been 18-0 in singles until a straight-set loss to No. 78 Margarita Karnaukhova at No. 1 singles. At No. 3 singles, Katharina Winterhalter had won 10 in a row until losing to No. 42 Anna Erikson. Fresno State (16-3) will try to rebound for Sunday's season finale against No. 53 Pacific. Match time is 10 a.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center, where the Bulldogs are 8-0 this season. The team has won 14 home matches in a row. The all-time series between Fresno State and Pacific is close, with the Bulldogs holding a slim 11-9 lead. But since 1996, Fresno State has been simply dominating, winning all eight meetings, including a 7-0 decision last year. The Tigers haven't defeated the Bulldogs since 1995. With this being the 21st meeting between the two schools, Pacific is Fresno State's most common opponent ever.
Hawaii - Hawaii concludes its regular season with dual matches at Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Riverside, Thursday, April 15 through Saturday, April 17. The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 6-1 victory over NAIA sixth-ranked Azusa Pacific, which snapped a six-match losing streak. The Rainbow Wahine begin the road swing against the 49ers, ranked No. 59 in the latest ITA national rankings. Earlier this season, the Beach handed UH a 6-1 defeat by winning five of the six singles matches and all three doubles contests. On the Long Beach State squad is Krystina Katayama, the daughter of UH head coach Carolyn Katayama. Leading the way for the Rainbow Wahine is junior Lauren Fitzgerald and senior Renata Camargo, who have a combined 27 overall singles victories. Fitzgerald is 10-9 in dual matches at the No. 1 spot while Camargo is 13-3 at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions.
Louisiana Tech - Louisiana Tech didn't let the absence of one its top players slow the team down Tuesday as the Tennis Techsters took a 6-1 win over Stephen F. Austin at the SFA courts in Nacogdoches, Texas. Louisiana Tech climbed to 7-10 with the win. The Tennis Techsters had to play singles matches without junior Anabella Duque, who had Tech's best individual record at 10-6, but didn't let Duque's illness heading into solo play slow down their efforts. Sarahai Uriarte won 6-3, 6-1 in No. 1 singles while Holly Ready picked up the No. 2 win 6-2, 6-3. Monica Kelly mobed to 10-6 on the season with a 6-1, 6-0 victory in the No. 3 spot, while Avril Martinez won 6-3, 6-3 in No. 4 singles. The Tennis Techsters return to action on April 17 when they play at Southeastern Louisiana in a 2:30 p.m.
Nevada - Nevadas women's tennis team dropped its final two regular season matches this weekend when it lost to San Jose State, 5-2 and San Francisco, 7-0. The loss to the Spartans was the first WAC defeat for Nevada this season who now stumbles to 1-15 for the season. The WAC Championships is all that is left on the schedule for the Pack this year. Last season, Nevada picked up its first win in the tournament since joining the conference in 2001 with a 4-0 defat of La Tech. This year the tournament will be hosted in Houston, Texas on April 29-May 2.
Rice - Facing their third top 30 team in four matches, the Rice women lost their final road game of the year with a 6-1 decision at 13th-ranked Tulane on Saturday in New Orleans, La. Sophomore Blair DiSesa continued to shine for the Owls, recording her team-high 13th singles win of the spring with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Maria Ivanov at the top spot. Rice was swept in the other five singles positions as well as in doubles.
San Jose State - San Jose State team lost to UC Davis, 7-2, on April 13. UC Davis, a Division II team, won all three doubles matches in the non-conference game. Junior June Lee and freshman Courtney Koenigsfeld posted the only two wins for the Spartans. Lee won at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-1, while Koenigsfeld won at No. 6 singles in a 10-5 tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets.
SMU - The SMU women's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to South Alabama. The match took place at Haggar Tennis Stadium on the campus of SMU and was the last home match of the season for the Mustangs. In singles, the Mustangs fought back picking up wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 singles, but it wasn't enough as South Alabama countered with victories at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 singles to secure the victory. Svetlana Kouzmenko ran her season record to 19-6 on the year with a three set win at No. 1 singles. Junior Jenny Langer picked up her 16th win at No. 3 doubles with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory. Halley Rambally was also a straight set winner at No. 6 singles, 7-5, 6-2. With the loss, SMU falls to 12-9 on the year.
UTEP - The UTEP tennis team fell to No. 75 Houston, 5-2 at the El Paso Tennis Center. The loss brings the Miners to 9-9 on the season going into the final three matches before the WAC Tournament, April 30 through May 2 in Houston, Texas.Senior Day failed to bring out the best in UTEP's only seniors, Martina Rezar and Adriana Boykova, who were honored before the match. Both dropped their matches in two sets, 6-1, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-0, respectively. The only singles win came at No. 2, when Tea Spirta defeated the Cougars' Biljana Dimovska, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. The Miners will travel to Houston, Texas to take on No. 75 Rice, Lamar University and No. 42 SMU, April 16-18.
Tulsa - Daniela Muscolino earned a No. 56 ITA singles ranking, while Ilona Somers claims the No. 81 slot. Muscolino and Somers teamed up to earn a No. 30 ITA doubles ranking. The Golden Hurricane is 15-7 on the season, notching a 2-0 conference mark . Tulsa's 44th-ranked women's tennis team captured a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma State on Apr. 13 at the DuBois Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla., to conclude the regular season with a 15-7 mark. In singles action, Muscolino notched a 6-0, 6-2 victory in the No. 1 slot, as Somers netted a 6-4, 6-0 decision in the No. 2 position. Donata Majauskaite, however, dropped a 6-0, 6-3 mark in the No. 3 slot to knot the dual at two a piece. Delport recorded a 6-1, 7-5 win in the No. 5 position, but Timberly Greenly fell 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 6 slot. Lisette Pereira tallied the winning point for the Golden Hurricane with her 7-5, 7-5 decision in the No. 4 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.