DENVER ? This week, all nine WAC schools are in action, with seven schools hosting their opponents and five schools set to take on nationally ranked teams. The No. 41 Boise State Broncos will head to Reno, Nev., to take on No. 27 Denver and WAC foe No. 65 Nevada, Apr. 12-13. The Wolf Pack will also take on No. 27 Denver in Reno on Apr. 11. No. 17 Fresno State hosts WAC foe Hawai?i, No. 43 Saint Mary’s and Loyola Marymount on Apr. 12-13, with the Rainbow Wahine also taking on No. 43 Saint Mary’s in Fresno. Hawai?i also welcomes Azusa Pacific to Honolulu on Apr. 9. Idaho will host Portland State on Apr. 13, while Louisiana Tech welcomes Centenary on Apr. 12. New Mexico State will travel to California for three matches against No. 57 UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton, Apr. 11-13. The Spartans of San Jose State will take on San Francisco, Apr. 10, before returning home to host Texas-Pan American, Apr. 11, while Utah State welcomes Northern Colorado to Logan, Apr. 11.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Fresno State’s Melanie Gloria has been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for the week of Mar. 31 ? Apr. 6. This is the fifth career Player of the Week honor for Gloria, earning the award twice as a freshman, once as a sophomore and once already this season as a junior.
Gloria, a junior from Montreal, Canada, (Georges-Vanier), was a perfect 2-0 in singles action, helping the Bulldogs earn a victory over WAC foe No. 65 Nevada (6-1). In singles play, No. 14 Gloria topped No. 59 Maria Mizyuk of Nevada (6-2, 6-0) and also took down No. 77 Sylvia Kosakowski of No. 26 Pepperdine (6-1, 6-4), both at the No. 1 position. In doubles action, Gloria paired with teammate Tinesta Rowe, as the No. 4 duo defeated No. 58 Caroline Bailly and Mizyuk of Nevada in a close 9-8 (5) match.
Other women’s tennis nominees included: Klaudia Wlodarczyk of Boise State was perfect in both singles and doubles in wins over Portland State (6-1) and WAC foe Utah State (7-0), tallying singles victories over Portland State’s Stephanie Fuchs (6-3, 6-2) and Hailey Swenson of Utah State (6-2, 6-1), both at the No. 2 position ... Adriana Makowska of Louisiana Tech led the Lady Techsters with two singles victories, tallying wins over Lola Pardo of Harding (6-2, 3-6, 10-8) and Heidi Miller of Central Arkansas (6-4, 7-5), earning her sixth singles win in her last seven matches.
Boise State Broncos
No. 41 Boise State ended its 2008 regular season with wins over Portland State (6-1) and WAC-foe Utah State (7-0), extending its winning streak to 11-straight matches ... the Broncos were perfect against the Aggies, winning all three doubles matches and all six singles matches ... three Bronco seniors, playing their final home matches, were honored, including Polina Kokoulina, Stacey Housley and Jen Wencel ... junior Jana Mackova tallied an impressive 6-1, 6-0 victory over Portland State’s Anya Dalkin, while junior Laura Baum was defeated Utah State’s Taylor Perry (6-1, 6-1) ... up next, the Broncos will take two weekends off to prepare for the WAC Championships, Apr. 24-26, in Las Cruces, N.M.
Fresno State Bulldogs
No. 17 Fresno State split a pair of home matches, first defeating WAC foe No. 65 Nevada (6-1) on Apr. 5, before falling to No. 26 Pepperdine (4-3) on Apr. 6 ... the No. 4-ranked duo of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe took down Nevada’s No. 58-ranked tandem of Caroline Bailly and Maria Mizyuk, 9-8 (7-5) ... despite winning the doubles point against the Waves, the Bulldogs were only able to capture two singles wins as Pepperdine rallied for the victory ... No. 14 Gloria also took down Pepperdine’s No. 77 Sylvia Kosakowski (6-1, 6-4), while No. 21 Anastasia Petukhova took down Pepperdine’s No. 74 Anamike Bhargava (6-4, 6-4) ... this week, the Bulldogs welcome WAC foe Hawai?i and No. 43 Saint Mary’s, Apr. 12, and Loyola Marymount, Apr. 13 in Fresno.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i picked up its first victory of the 2008 season with a 5-2 win over Hawai?i Pacific, Apr. 2 ... the Rainbow Wahine snapped a season-long 14-match losing streak with the win over the No. 22-ranked Division II Sea Warriors ... Hawai?i won the doubles point in exciting fashion as the team of Natasha Zorec and Jennifer Goldman won a tiebreak over Anastasia Ageychik and Ralitsa Pirdopska, 9-8 (7), sealing the doubles point ... the Rainbow Wahine captured four of six singles matches as Sophie Kobuch, Chloe Bihag, Zorec and Goldman were victorious in their matches ... this week, the Rainbow Wahine welcome NAIA powerhouse Azusa Pacific to Honolulu on Apr. 9.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho won its sixth-straight match with a 4-0 win over Santa Clara, improving to 13-8 this season ... the Vandals captured the doubles point, taking two of three very close matches ... Laura Leoni and Silvia Irimescu beat Stephanie Galainena and Ashley Pane (8-6), while Natalie Kirch and Basia Maciocha took down Samantha Georgina and Carmen Pham (8-6) ... the Vandals then earned three quick singles wins, with Irimescu defeating Galainena (6-1, 6-4), Maciocha topping Myra Davouid (6-2, 6-0) and Yvette Ly taking down Lindsay McBride (6-3, 6-2), at the No, 1, 2 and 3 postions, respectively ... this week, the Vandals put their six-match winning streak on the line at home, hosting Portland State on Apr. 13.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
Louisiana Tech fell in its final two road matches of the regular season, losing to Harding (8-1) and Central Arkansas (5-2) ... junior Ada Makowska shined for the Lady Techsters, adding two more singles win to her season total, now winning six of her last seven matches ... her first win came against Harding’s Lola Pardo, edging her in three sets (6-2, 3-6, 10-8), following with a win over Heidi Miller of Central Arkansas (6-4, 7-5) ... freshman Rocio Juarez also picked up a win against Central Arkansas’ Rebecca Miller (6-3, 1-4, ret.) ... up next, Louisiana Tech will close out its regular season at home against Grambling State, Apr. 11.
Nevada Wolf Pack
No. 65 Nevada had its four-match winning streak snapped by WAC foe No. 16 Fresno State, when the Wolf Pack fell to the Bulldogs, 6-1 ... the Wolf Pack picked up one win in doubles action, with freshmen Florence De Vrye and Lais Ogata defeating Danon Beatty and Jacqueline Haskett (8-3) at the No. 3 position ... the only win in singles action for the Wolf Pack went to junior Caroline Bailly, topping No. 21 Anastasia Petukhova (4-6, 6-1, 11-9) at the No. 2 position ... the No. 58-ranked tandem of Bailly and Maria Mizyuk were edged out in a tight match to the No. 4-ranked duo of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe, falling 9-8 (7-5) at the No. 1 position ... this week, the Wolf Pack welcome No. 27 Denver to Reno, Apr. 11.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State returns home from El Paso, Texas, after topping UTEP (5-2), Apr. 8 ... this win marks the fourth-straight victory over the Miners in El Paso ... the Aggies won five of six singles matches, including three in straight sets ... senior Anne Fagegaltier defeated Ximena Fuentes (6-3, 6-4), improving her season record to 12-4 ... junior Pauliza Zuniga dominated Amber Brightly at the No. 6 position, winning 6-3, 6-0, while junior Stephanie Eusebe breezed by Megan Pritchard (6-2, 6-3) at the No. 3 position ... this week, the Aggies make the trip to California to take on No. 57 UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge, Apr. 11-13.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State closed out its regular-season home schedule with a win over UC Santa Cruz (6-1), Apr. 8 ... senior Rokie Larijani posted a victory in her last home match as a Spartan, teaming with Sana Hadzisabic to take down Kyla Kessler Rowe and Chrissy Nichol (8-3) in No. 3 doubles ... junior Amber Silverstone increased her consecutive win streak in singles play to nine-straight matches, topping Megan Sweeney (7-6, 6-1) at the No. 2 position ... Ashley Tavita continued her successful senior season, defeating the Banana Slug’s Jessica Ruth, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 ... this week, San Jose State will take on San Francisco, Apr. 10, before returning home to host Texas-Pan American, Apr. 11.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State looks to bounce back after falling to WAC foe No. 36 Boise State (7-0) and Portland State (5-2), Apr. 4-5, in Boise, and Weber State (4-3), Apr. 8, in Ogden ... against the Vikings, sophomore Brianna Harris tallied a singles victory over Portland State’s Lacey Pflibsen (6-2, ret.) at the No. 1 position, while freshman Hailey Swenson also notched a win in singles action over Portland State’s Stephanie Fuchs (7-5, 2-6, 10-2) ... in doubles action, all three Aggies tandems lost to the Viking opponents by a score of 8-2 ... Swenson also picked up a win over Weber State’s Inalise Pienaar (6-1, 6-4) at the No. 2 position ... this week, the Aggies welcome Northern Colorado to Logan on Apr. 11.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD IN LAS CRUCES ? This season, the Western Athletic Conference Tournament will return to Las Cruces, New Mexico on the campus of New Mexico State, April 24-27. The 2007 champion, Fresno State, will look to win its seventh-straight title. Last season, Fresno State took the title at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, defeating second-seeded Boise State, 4-0.
- WAC -