DENVER ? This week, six of nine WAC schools are in action, with one school set to kick off its spring schedule for the first time. The No. 44 Boise State Broncos welcome Montana State and WAC foe Idaho to Boise on Feb. 1, before traveling to Eugene, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks on Feb. 3. No. 14 Fresno State heads to Palo Alto, Calif., to take on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Jan. 31. Idaho makes the trip to Boise, Idaho, to take on the Broncos on Feb. 1, before playing a neutral site match against Montana State on Feb. 2. Louisiana Tech travels to Nacogdoches, Texas, to tango with Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 3. The Aggies of New Mexico State welcome cross-town rival No. 62 New Mexico to Las Cruces on Feb. 3, while the Aggies of Utah State take on instate foe Weber State in Ogden, Utah, on Feb. 2. The No. 66 Nevada Wolf Pack will travel to Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 9-10, to take on North Texas and Texas Tech, and the San Jose State Spartans will open their spring schedule on Feb. 8 at home versus Sonoma State. The Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine have nearly a month off before returning to the courts Feb. 21-22 to take on San Diego and San Diego State.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? New Mexico State’s Anne Fagegaltier has been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 21-27. This is the first career Player of the Week honor for Fagegaltier.
Fagegaltier, a senior from Montreuil, France, opened up the dual match season for the Aggies’ winning two of three singles matches and two of three doubles matches with teammate Paulina Zuniga. Fagegaltier defeated Weber State’s Greyce Farias (6-0, 6-3) in her season debut and then paired up with Zuniga to defeat Lindley and Farias (8-3). One day later, Fagegaltier picked up the only team point for the Aggies in a 6-1 loss to No. 43 UNLV by overpowering Nikos Dimitrova (6-4, 4-6, 1-0).
Other nominees included: Rocio Juarez of Louisiana Tech led the Lady Techsters to a 6-1 win over Prairie View A&M, helping to earn the team’s first victory of the season. Juarez won her singles match in straight sets over Samantha Cantu (6-2, 6-3) and teamed up with Ada Makowska to down Cantu and Gueirrer in doubles action.
NO. 44 BOISE STATE HOSTS MONTANA STATE AND IDAHO IN SEASON OPENER ? The Boise State Broncos are set to kickoff their 2008 spring season on Friday, Feb. 1, when they play host to Montana State and WAC foe Idaho in dual matches.
The Broncos hope to use their success from the fall season, counting heavily on transfers Pichittra Thongdack and Klaudia Wlodarczyk, who posted 11-3 and 10-5 fall records, respectively. Senior Stacey Housley will also make a big impact after posting a 12-1 singles record this fall.
Polina Kokoulina and Pichittra Thongdack look to be the strongest doubles team and will continue their 8-3 record in the fall, while Laura Baum and Jana Mackova hope to improve on their 5-2 fall record.
NO. 14 FRESNO STATE OPENS SEASON AT NO. 2 STANFORD ? The No. 14 Fresno State Bulldogs will open their 2008 spring season when they head to Stanford to take on the No. 2 Cardinal, Jan. 31. The Bulldogs were scheduled to play their home opener against WAC foe Nevada on Jan. 27, but was postponed due to inclement weather.
Fresno State heads to Stanford in an annual early season matchup between the two teams. The Bulldogs are looking for their first-ever team victory over the Cardinal, as Stanford is 15-0 all-time versus the Bulldogs.
LOUISIANA TECH EARNS FIRST VICTORY OF SEASON ? After being swept in the season opener against Lamar, the Lady Techsters bounced back to dominate the courts against Prairie View A&M, earning a 6-1 win and their first victory of the 2008 spring season.
Louisiana Tech won five singles matches in straight sets, losing the No. 6 singles match by default, and won both doubles matches to get the 6-1 victory. Rocio Juarez won her No. 1 singles match 6-2, 6-3 over Samantha Cantu of Prairie View A&M. Juarez also paired up with teammate Ada Makowska in doubles to defeat Cantu and Mellisa Gueirrer, 8-4.
NEW MEXICO STATE EARNS TWO WINS IN OPENING WEEKEND ? The New Mexico State Aggies opened up the dual match season with a sweep of Weber State on Jan. 25, making quick work of the Wildcats in a 7-0 win. The Aggies won all six singles matches in straight sets.
The Aggies fell 6-1 to No. 43 UNLV on Jan. 26, but rebounded and came back to defeat Pacific, 4-3. The win over the Tigers avenges a 7-0 loss to Pacific one year ago in Las Vegas. New Mexico State’s victory over Pacific was a tight one, as junior Stephanie Eusebe gave the Aggies the deciding point in a thrilling three-set match over Olga Gumenyuk of Pacific.
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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