ON TAP IN THE WAC - With only two conference matches in the books, WAC teams are eagerly preparing for league matches this week. No. 50 Boise State heads out to San Jose State in the lone WAC match of the week, while New Mexico State travels to San Diego for a mid-season tournament. Hawai?i battles two ranked teams in Washington State (74) and Arizona (22), as No. 18 Fresno State has a tough task with No. 5 California on Saturday.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (March 9-March 15)
Denver ? Fresno State’s Melanie Gloria has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, respectively, for March 9-15.
Gloria, a senior from Montreal, Canada (Georges-Vanier), finished 4-0 at the top position in singles play in four matches over the weekend. The senior helped the Bulldogs to four victories, including three against ranked teams. No. 14 Gloria had a 6-4, 6-2, win against No. 89 Macall Harkins of 21st ranked-TCU, in Fresno State’s 6-1 win over the Horned Frogs. Along with partner Tinesta Rowe, Gloria posted an undefeated record in doubles play. The duo highlighted their 4-0 weekend with an 8-3 win over No. 66 Danielle Steinberg and Sarah Landsman of No. 59 Arizona. Gloria completed her weekend with a 6-2, 6-4, victory of Maria Meliuk of No. 34 Sacramento State. This is the first time this season that she has earned the WAC Tennis Player of the Week award.
Other female nominees included: Boise State’s Lauren Megale, Hawai?i’s Anja-Vanessa Peter, Idaho’s Maria Perevoshchikova, Nevada’s Florence De Vrye and Utah State’s Monica Abella.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
With a ranking of 50, the Broncos have won seven straight matches, including four against ranked opponents ... the team is now 13-2 on the season, including a 2-0 WAC record and an 8-1 ITA Central Region record ... it boasts an impressive 5-0 home record and 5-2 road record while also holding a 3-0 neutral record ... No. 83 Pichittra Thongdach has led BSU all season, while standout freshman Lauren Megale holds 118 ranking in the nation ... Megale and Thongdach paired for a 8-3 win over Washington State’s Fournier/Kamedova duo in BSU’s 4-3 victory over the Cougars ... this week, the team attempts to extend its conference lead to three games as it takes on San Jose State in San Jose, Calif. on Wendesday.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Senior Melanie Gloria earned WAC Player of the Week honors after her incredible performances against three ranked opponents ... her play helped Fresno State win four straight matches, including wins against No. 21 TCU, No. 59 Arizona and No. 34 Sacramento State ... the Bulldogs jumped to No. 18 in the this week’s rankings, 19 spots better than last week ... over the four match stretch, the team lost just two points ... the pair of Kucerkova/Petukhova has earned a No. 1 national ranking for the week, while Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe have moved into the No. 18 spot ... the Bulldogs hit the road for the first time since late February, as they travel to Berkeley, Calif., to take on Cal.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine (5-5) are currently on a three-match winning streak, dominating Hawai’i Pacific, UH-Hilo, and Chaminade ... freshman Anja-Vanessa Peter is on a five-match singles winning streak and has won six of her last seven, she went undefeated with a 4-0 record in singles and doubles play in UH’s 4-3 victory over HPU and 7-0 win over UH-Hilo ... senior Melinda Wong has also won six of her last seven singles matches ... junior Sophie Kobuch is tied with Peter with a team leading eight singles victories ... the team will continue its 11-match homestand, first hosting Wyoming on Wednesday ... UH will also play two Pac-10 teams, Washington State and No. 59 Arizona this week.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals improved to 12-4 on the season after a 5-1 win over Georgetown on Sunday ... Idaho won every singles match with the exception of No. 5, where Yvette Ly was forced to retire in the second set because of injury ... the team extended its winning streak to nine-straight matches, all of them have come on the road ... Maria Perevoshchikova went 5-0 overall on the weekend, going 3-0 at No. 1 singles, and 2-0 at No. 1 doubles ... she defeated Ksenia Slynko of University of Cincinnati 7-5,6-4 to clinch the overall win ... Perevoshchikova then defeated Olga Elkin of West Virginia University 6-1,6-0 before defeating Aileen Shea of Georgetown University 6-2,6-1 ... UI is off until April 3 when it travels to Pocatello, Idaho to take on in-state rival Idaho state.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters picked up a win Saturday in the Arkansas State Invitational over Southeast Missouri by a 5-1 final ... the Techsters lost their first two matches to Arkansas State (4-0) and UTEP (4-0) before taking the match against the Redhawks ... senior Ada Makowska picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win, while freshman Maartje de Wit won her match 6-1, 6-0 ... sophomore Rocio Juarez won 6-1, 6-0 and both sophomore Mallory Smith and freshman Laura Rodriguez swept through both their matches 6-0, 6-0 ... the team will be at home March 24 to host Grambling State at the Louisiana Tech Lady Techster Tennis Complex. Admission to watch the Techsters will be free of charge.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada broke into the ITA rankings at No. 54 after it earned a huge 4-3 victory over No. 25 Long Beach State ... Florence De Vrye had two wins in singles this weekend, having successful wins in the No. 2 position against LBSU’s Deborah Armstrong and against No. 50 San Diego’s Samantha Mouly ... she also picked up a doubles win with Lais Ogata against No. 38 UC Irvine in the No. 2 spot ... after a tough 4-0 loss to No. 38 UC Irvine, the Wolf Pack responded quickly with a 4-3 win over San Diego State ... the Wolf Pack returns to action next week as they take another ranked opponent in No. 24 SMU on March 27 ... Nevada will also take on Wichita State and Louisville, that same weekend before it begins WAC play in early April.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State plays in the San Diego Dual Tournament, March 18-20, and faces No. 43 Utah on Wednesday in its first match... the team is 0-2 this season against ranked opponents... junior Sophia Marks leads the Aggies with her 7-3 singles record... last weekend, the Aggies’ match at UT-Arlington was rained out and they fell, 5-2, at North Texas... NMSU will play either Northern Arizona or No. 63 Texas Tech, Thursday depending on its first day results. NAU beat the Aggies, Feb. 20, 4-3 ... the 2009 Barnes Collegiate Invitational also features No. 44 Mississippi, No. 48 San Diego, New Mexico and UT-Arlington.
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans finished 1-2 on the weekend in Palm Springs, including a 6-1 victory over Sacred Heart University ... Amber Silverstone, Olivia Marshall, Silvana Dukic, Anna Guzman, and Jennifer Williams all won in straight sets over their SHU opponents ... senior Amber Silverstone found herself down early in the first set 4-1 to opponent Kate Donnelly, but fought back for the two set win ... after dropping 4-3 early this week to Northern Colorado, San Jose State will look toward its first conference match against No. 50 Boise State this Thursday in the second match of a four match homestand ... the Spartans will also host former WAC foe UTEP on Friday.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State registered a 1-1 weekend record after a 4-3 win over Seattle University in Portland, Ore. last week ... freshman Monica Abella (Veracruz, Mexico) was the only Aggie woman to win both singles matches this weekend as the Aggies split the weekend with a 5-2 loss to Portland and the win against SU ... Abella won at the No. 3 singles spot on Friday in a hard fought, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, point against PSU’s Anya Dalkin ... in doubles action, Abella teamed with Carla Limon and the pair fell, 8-4, at the number two position ... the Aggies host Houston in logan on Wednesday before traveling to Bozeman, Mont. over the weekend.
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.