PLAYER OF THE MONTH - New Mexico State’s Laura Boguet has been named the Western Athletic Conference Female Tennis Player of the Month for September. This is the first Tennis Players of the Month award for the 2008 Fall season.
Boguet, a junior from Annecy Le Vieux, France, finished the month of September with a 3-1 singles record and a 3-0 record in doubles play with teammate Natalia Salum Soto. At the Aggie Fall Invite, that ran Sept. 19-21, Boguet won all three of her singles matches in straight sets with her only loss coming at the hands of Oklahoma State’s JoAnne Karaitiana. In doubles play, Boguet and Soto won all three of their doubles matches en route to the Aggie Fall Invite title.
Other female nominees included: Abigail Olivier of Fresno State finished with a 4-1 singles record including a 6-3, 6-1, win over No. 22 Claire Ilcinkas of California. Utah State’s Hailey Swenson finished with a 3-2 overall singles record for September and advanced to the consolation quarterfinals of the BYU Invitational. Boise State’s Lauren Megale competed in her first tournament as a Bronco at the BYU Invitational and posted a 3-1 singles record in the main draw including a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over No. 1 seed Christina Doerr.
BOISE STATE TAKES BOTH DOUBLES DRAWS AT COUGAR CLASSIC - The Broncos were unstoppable in the doubles competitions, winning both the No. 1 draw title and the No. 2 draw title at the Cougar Classic in Pullman, Wash. Senior Laura Baum competed with junior Bianca Jochimsen in the No. 1 bracket. The pair took the first round match 8-5 over Laura Villegas and Jasper (Montana State) and never looked back. The pair would reach the finals and took the title with a convincing 8-2 win over Liz Walker and Martyna Nowak (Montana).
In singles play, Jochimsen reached the No. 1 singles final by nearly sweeping her way through the bracket. In her first round match, Jochimsen defeated Stephanie Jasper (Montana State) in a three-set battle 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. That would be the only time that Jochimsen would have to go three-sets as she swept her next two matches to reach the finals, where she lost a hard-fought match to Ekaterina Kamendova (Washington State) 7-5, 6-4.
BULLDOGS ADVANCE TO QUARTERFINALS AT ITA ALL-AMERICAN - Top ranked Fresno State doubles team of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe got off to a fast start at the ITA All-American main draw on Oct. 2. No.1 ranked Gloria/Rowe were matched up with Borosova/Borsanyi of Baylor. The Baylor duo put up a fight, but the `Dogs were victorious 8-6 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova will be joining their teammates in the quarterfinals after a hard fought victory over Lui/Rose of Northwestern 9-7. Gloria and Petukhova are also still alive in singles play, as they will compete in the consolation bracket of the main draw. The ITA All-American Championships wrap up on Oct. 5.
kobuch battles hard but is ousted at ita all-american championships - University of Hawai`i junior Sophie Kobuch opened the women’s tennis season at the 2008 Riviera ITA All-American Championships with a loss in the first round of the qualifying draw, Tuesday, at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Kobuch, ranked No. 69 in the ITA preaseason rankings, was ousted in a close 7-5, 6-3 match to No. 46 Ela Kaluder of Arkansas. Kobuch and the Rainbow Wahine next host the Rainbow Wahine Invitational beginning on Thursday, Oct. 9, at the UH Tennis Complex.
VANDALS SHOW WELL AT EWU/GONZAGA FALL CLASSIC - In the No. 1 singles draw, Daniela Cohen and Basia Maciocha advanced to the semifinals before bowing out. Cohen lost to Aglaya Kokurina of Gonzaga University 6-2, 6-3 in her semifinal match. Maciocha fell to Megan Sporndli of Portland University in a tough three-set encounter.
Idaho was well represented in the No. 3 singles draw. Jana Siwa made it to the finals with victories over Megan Reinhartsen of Seattle University and Judy Liening of EWU. In the finals, Siwa lost to Kristina Zauere of Gonzaga University. Zauere had eliminated Idaho sophomore Natalie Kirch in the semifinals. Kirch had made it to the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Anabel Sanchez of EWU.
wolf pack open season at cal invite - Sophomore Florence De Vrye defeated Santa Clara’s Kacie Wagner 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 32 in the ITA Singles Blue. But De Vrye fell to Long Beach State’s Staphanie Jeanes 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 16. Fellow sophomore Lais Ogata defeated Pacific’s Sasha Fisher in the round of 32 in the ITA Singles Blue. But Ogata fell to BYU’s Chie Hayasaka 7-5, 6-3 also in the round of 16.
The Pack will return to action next weekend when it will compete at the St. Mary’s Invitational in Moraga, Calif. Junior and No. 91 Caroline Bailly is expected to rejoin the team after competing at the ITA All-American this weekend in Pacific Palisides, Calif.
aggies’ swenson reaches quarterfinals at byu - Sophomore Hailey Swenson made it to the singles consolation quarterfinals round but fell, 6-4, 6-0, to former USU teammate and current Utah player Erin Monson. Swenson beat Aggie teammate Monica Abella, 6-4, 6-1, in round two of singles consolation after receiving a bye in the first round. Abella beat Weber State’s Keya Adamson in the first round of singles consolation. Sophomore Taylor Perry also fell in the first round of singles consolation to Weber State’s Brittiny Moore.
The Aggies will continue action Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11 as they host the Utah State Invitational in Logan, Utah.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN honolulu - This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will return to Honolulu, Hawaii on the campus of Hawai?i, April 23-26. The 2008 champion, Hawai?i, will look to defend its’ crown after it earned its first-ever WAC title with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Fresno State.