DENVER ? This week, four of nine WAC schools are in action, with three schools set to kick off their spring schedules for the first time. Hawai?i will play host to the Hawai?i Invitational Jan. 16-18, where the Rainbow Wahine welcome players from No. 19 Alabama, No. 56 Sacramento State, Alabama and Kansas, featuring both a singles and doubles individual format. Hawai?i will then play against Pac-10 and No. 72 Washington on Jan. 20. Nevada will make the trip to Berkeley, Calif. to compete in the Cal Winter Invitational Jan. 18-20. Utah State will travel to Provo to take on cross-town rival BYU, while Idaho will travel to Lewiston, Idaho to square off with Lewis & Clark State College on Jan. 19, before heading to Pullman, Wash. to take on Washington State.
FRESNO STATE’S GLORIA AND ROWE RANKED NO. 1 IN PRE-SEASON ITA RANKINGS ? Junior Bulldogs Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe earned the ITA No. 1 doubles ranking (Jan. 8), as they look to go down as one of the top tandems in Fresno State history.
Gloria and Rowe have been a potent combination since being paired together early in the dual season last year. The two finished the year 13-5 overall and were participants in the 2007 NCAA Doubles tournament. During the fall season, Gloria and Rowe went 9-2 and had wins over six ranked opponents. They also participated in the All-American and National Indoors and won the ITA Northwest Regional, one of the toughest in the nation. Teammates Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova also earned a No. 29 doubles ranking.
As a team, the Bulldogs maintained their No. 14 team ranking. Fresno State reached the NCAA Round of 16 last year and earned a final 2007 ranking of No. 14.
In singles, sophomore Petukhova earned the top ranking among fellow Bulldogs, earning the No. 11 spot after a tremendous fall season. She went 13-2, capturing the Bulldog Classic title and was a semifinalist at the Northwest Regional Championships. Her best win of the fall was a straight-set victory over former NCAA champion and then-No. 4 Susie Babos of Cal.
Gloria earned a No. 39 ranking and sophomore Kucerkova got a No. 94 ranking. Rowe jumped into the rankings for a second time in her career, this time earning the No. 43 spot, after going 9-3 in the fall with eight straight wins.
HAWAI?I’S KOBUCH EARNS BIG WINS TO OPEN SPRING SEASON ? Rainbow Wahine sophomore Sophie Kobuch has opened the spring season with several key wins. In the first match of 2008, Kobuch beat No. 59 Anastasia Surkova of BYU, 6-4, 6-4. She then followed up that victory with a solid win over No. 13 Baylor’s Taylor Ormond, 2-6, 5-5 (15-0), (ret.). Kobuch improved her record to a perfect 3-0 when she earned an impressive victory over Katie Tybakova of No. 19 Florida State, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 at the Hawai?i Invitational. Tybakova, Florida State’s top player, is currently ranked No. 16 in the latest ITA rankings and had won seven of her last eight matches prior to facing Kobuch.
UTAH STATE OPENS SEASON AT NO. 28 BYU ? The Utah State Aggies head to Provo, Utah on Friday, Jan. 18 to take on the No. 28 BYU Cougars in their opening match of the 2008 spring season. The last time Utah State took on BYU was in 2006, where the Aggies fell, 6-1.
WAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD IN LAS CRUCES ? This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held in Las Cruces, New Mexico on the campus of New Mexico State, April 24-27. The 2007 champion, Boise State, will look to win its fourth-straight title. Last season, the host Boise State took the title at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, defeating second-seeded Fresno State, 4-0. This is the first time the WAC Tennis Championship has been held in Las Cruces.
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