ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Jan. 12 - 18)
Denver ? Idaho’s Alexandra Ulesanu has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 12-18.
Ulesanu, a junior from Constanta, Romania (University of Ovidius Constanta), went undefeated in doubles play and 2-1 in singles play during the week, as she led the Vandal women to a 2-1 start to the season. She won both her matches and scored Idaho’s only point in a 6-1 loss at No. 44 Washington State on Saturday, as she scored a victory over Marina Nicolas at the No. 5 spot, then teamed up with Yvette Ly to score an 8-5 win over Gomez/Nicolas in doubles. She helped Idaho take a 4-3 win over Air Force Sunday morning with a No. 3 doubles win. Later that same day, she won both her singles and doubles matches against LCSC, as she dropped Shefat Baishakhi 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, then took down Smedly/Moorhead 8-3 at the No. 2 doubles spot.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
After a solid 2008 fall season, the Boise State women’s tennis team has earned a No. 45 national team ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association ... the Broncos’ Pichittra Thongdach earned the only singles ranking for the Broncos, sitting at No. 104 out of the 125 nationally ranked players ... Thongdach and freshman Vivian Silfany are the only ranked duo for BSU, holding the No. 54 spot ... In the Central Region rankings, Thongdach looks to be a strong competitor, sitting at No. 7 in singles play ... freshman Lauren Megale holds the No. 12 spot in the region’s singles rankings while Silfany and senior Bianca Jochimsen rank No. 23 and No. 30 out of the region’s 30-ranked singles players ... the Broncos begin their season on Jan. 23 when they host Montana State
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State looks to make the NCAA Championships for the 13th consecutive year this season as it is ranked No. 15 in the nation ... the duo of Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova, who won the ITA National Title this fall, climbed the rankings from No. 8 to an impressive No. 2 spot in doubles ... the pair of Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe fell from a No. 1 ranking to a No. 23 ranking to begin the spring season ... at the Freeman Invitational last week, Fresno State’s two doubles teams and five singles players amassed 21 wins in their 28 matches over the weekend, including two bracket championships ... Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova put an exclamation point on their No. 5-ranking after they downed fifth-ranked Amanda McDowell and Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech, 8-5 in the semifinals.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Junior Sophie Kobuch leads the Rainbow Wahine this season with her No. 20 ranking in all of the West ... she held a No. 69 ranking in the fall before a 6-1, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Stanford’s No. 4 Hilary Barte ... UH looks to improve on its quarter-final exit from last years’ WAC Championship as the tournament will come to Honolulu for the 19th installment of the conference championship ... the team hopes to rebound from a 6-1 loss to Stanford late in November when it begins its 2009 campaign with home matches against San Diego State and UC Irvine on Jan. 29 and 30, respectively.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho started off the season with a 2-1 weekend record ... the Vandals first paid a visit to No. 44 Washington State on Saturday, but fell 6-1 ... Idaho responded on Sunday with a pair of wins ... Idaho first scored a 4-3 win over Air Force in a tightly-contested battle, then hit the road for Lewiston, Idaho and just hours later scored a 6-1 win over Lewis and Clark State College ... the 2-1 record gives Idaho its best start in three years ... junior Alexandra Ulesanu went undefeated in doubles play and 2-1 in singles play during the week, as she led the Vandal women to a 2-1 start to the season. She won both her matches and scored Idaho’s only point in a 6-1 loss at No. 44 Washington State on Saturday ... the Vandals next prepare for Oregon as they travel to Eugene on Jan. 23.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
The Lady Techsters open their season on Jan. 30 at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas ... LTU then faces Houston on the following day before traveling home to Ruston to face Mcneese State on Feb. 1 ... La Tech returns two seniors in Ada Makowska (Sopot, Poland) and Ashley Wedderburn (Houston, Texas) ... Wedderburn will lead the way in the No. 1 position after her 3-17 record in singles play during the 2007-08 season ... the team opens WAC play on April 4 when it travels to Boise to take on Boise State, Hawai?i and Idaho in a three-match swing.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Senior Caroline Bailly brings a Northwest ranking of 30 to the spring season ... she leads a team that boasts four sophomores, a junior and two freshmen ... the Wolf Pack competed at the Cal Winter Invitational as junior Maria Mizyuk concluded her season-opening weekend with another win in doubles ... teaming up with sophomore Aodhnait Lombard for the second time in three days, the duo picked up a 8-6 victory over Kathryn Malec and Alita Fisher of No. 59 Saint Mary’s ... In singles action, Lombard picked up a win 7-5, 6-3, over Steffi Wong of No. 75 Cal Poly ... De Vrye came up short 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, over Cal Poly’s Brittany Blalock and Stevens faced Cal Poly’s No. 120 Maria Malec but fell 6-0, 6-1 ... Nevada begins its dual season on Jan. 31 in Stockton, Calif. at Pacific.
New Mexico State Aggies
Juniors Aleksa Costa and Sophia Marks became the first ranked doubles team in the history of the New Mexico State women’s tennis program, as the Aggies’ top duo are ranked No. 52 in the nation ... the pair are just the second of three WAC doubles team to be ranked in the nation ... Costa and Marks also garnered a No. 6 ranking in the central region, just behind the two Boise State duos ... NMSU opens the spring season with three matches in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 23-25. The Aggies’ Jan. 24 match with No. 39 UNLV highlights their opening weekend.
San Jose State Spartans
After just two appearances during fall play, the Spartans look to get in the swing of things when they open their season on Feb. 1 in a match at Cal State Bakersfield, in Bakersfield, Calif. ... SJSU will look for continued success out of senior Amber Silverstone ... Silverstone defeated defeated Catalina Visico of California in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, in the consolation bracket of the ITA Northwest Regional Championship ... Along with Silverstone, seniors Silvana Dukic and Sanda Hadzisabic lead the Spartans this year ... SJSU also boasts three juniors and three sophomores on the roster.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State concluded its fall season at the ITA Mountain Regionals when senior Bridgette Strickland fell to Jana Mackova of Boise State, 6-3, 6-2 while teammate Monica Calleja lost to Oklahoma’s Marie-Pier , 6-2, 6-2 ... Sophomore Taylor Perry fell 6-3, 6-2 to Nebraska’s Maria Ring ... also falling in the first round was freshman Carla Limon losing, 6-1, 6-2, to Lisa Johnson of Utah ... Strickland, from Orem, Utah, is the lone senior on the Aggies’ roster and hopes to build on her fall performance ... USU begins the 2006 season on the road at Idaho State on Jan. 22 before traveling to Provo, Utah to take on BYU on Jan. 30 ... the Aggies will be on the road seven-straight matches before returning home on Feb. 25 to play host to Weber State.
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, Fresno State, will look to defend its’ crown after the Bulldogs earned their seventh-consecutive WAC title with a 4-1 win over second-seeded Boise State.