ON TAP IN THE WAC - No. 15 Fresno State highlights this week's marquee match as the Bulldogs take on No. 1-ranked Northwestern in San Diego on Friday. No. 38 Boise State and No 59 Nevada also take on ranked opponents in No. 51 San Diego and No. 24 SMU, respectively.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (March 16-March 22)
Denver ? Fresno State’s Melanie Gloria has been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week for March 16-22.
Gloria, a senior from Montreal, Canada (Georges-Vanier), led the Bulldogs to a monumental upset over No. 5 California on Saturday. Leading No. 18 Fresno State at the top position, Gloria (No. 19) defeated the No. 17th-ranked player in the nation, Jana Juricova, 7-6 (4), 6-3. In doubles action, she and her partner Tinesta Rowe (16), played to an 8-6 win over Cal’s No. 9 Cossou/Ilcinkas. The win against Cal is the first time this season any WAC team, men or women, has defeated a top-5 opponent. This marks the second time in as many weeks Gloria has earned the WAC Tennis Player of the Week award.
Other female nominees: Boise State’s Vivien Silfany, Hawai?i’s Alyssa Nafarrette, New Mexico State’s Stephanie Eusebe and Utah State’s Hailey Swenson.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
The Broncos finished 3-0 last week, including a 7-0 victory over WAC foe San Jose State ... BSU is the only WAC team to play more than one conference match, winning all three contests ... freshman Vivian Silfany had a perfect weekend with a 6-0 record in the three dual matches ... she recorded a 3-0 singles record and a 3-0 doubles record playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spot and the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles spots ... she now holds an 11-1 singles record and a 10-1 doubles record this season ... the Broncos are on a ten-match win streak and now hold a 16-2 record on the season ... this week, the team will travel to San Diego for their final match in a seven-week road schedule.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State pulled off the biggest upset of the season when it defeated Pac-10 powerhouse, California, the fifth-ranked team in the nation ... the Bulldogs were led by senior Melanie Gloria who garnered WAC Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row for her play in the 4-3 victory in Los Angeles ... Gloria defeated No. 17 Jana Juricova, 7-6 (4), 6-3, before playing to an 8-6 win over Cal’s Coussou/Ilcinkas duo, ranked No. 9 in the nation ... the win marked the first time this season a WAC team, men or women, has defeated a top-5 opponent ... things don’t get any easier for the Bulldogs as they get a chance to prove themselves against No. 1 Northwestern on Friday in San Diego, Calif.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine earned their first win of the season over a ranked opponent after a 4-3 defeat of No. 74 Washington State in Honolulu last week ... overall, UH finished 3-1 on the week, with its only loss coming at the hands of No. 64 Arizona ... the loss snapped a five-match winning streak ... freshman Alyssa Nafarrete has won five straight dual singles matches, and four of her last five doubles matches ... freshman Anja-Vanessa Peter has won six of her last eight dual matches and five of her last six doubles matches ... junior Sophie Kobuch leads the team with 10 singles victories, winning four of her last five ... team concludes its long 11-match homestand this week, hosting four teams ... UH will first play No. 36 Washington on Wednesday, March 25, at 11:00 a.m. UH will also Cal Poly, No. 32 Illinois, and No. 62 Marshall.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals improved to 12-4 on the season after a 5-1 win over Georgetown nearly two weeks ago ... 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 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 ...
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 two weeks ago, but has since earned a No. 59 ranking... Florence De Vrye had two wins in singles, 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 return to action this 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 returns home to face Tulane, March 28, after playing its last eight matches on the road... last week, senior Stephanie Eusebe posted a 2-1 record in both her singles and doubles matches last week for the Aggies who went 1-2 in the 2009 Barnes Collegiate Invitational in San Diego, Calif. ... junior Sophia Marks has gone 9-4 at the top singles position this year for the Aggies and she has a 8-2 record in her last 10 matche... Eusebe and sophomore Isabela Kulaif have won seven out of their last 10 doubles matches... the Aggies are 3-2 this season in matches decided by one point...
San Jose State Spartans
The Spartans dropped to 6-8 after three losses last week, including 7-0 defeats from Boise State and UTEP ... SJSU dropped a 4-3 decision to Northern Colorado last tuesday ... the team won at the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots against the Bears ... this week, SJSU attempts to break its four-match losing streak in matches against Cal State Los Angeles, Southern Utah and South Dakota State ... Cal State LA will make the trip to San Jose, before the Spartans depart to Las Vegas to take on SUU and SDSU on March 28 and 29 respectively.
Utah State Aggies
The Aggies’ most recent play, a loss to Montana, 5-2, in Bozeman, Mont. brought the Aggies to a current record of 3-12 thus far this season ... in singles play, sophomore Hailey Swenson defeated the Grizzlies’ Liz Walker, 6-7, 7-6, 1-0, at the number one spot ... Swenson leads the Aggies in singles action, boasting an impressive team high record of 9-6 this season ... junior Britney Watts had an impressive day, winning both in singles and doubles play ... USU will play Wyoming in Logan on Thursday in preparation for the beginning of WAC play on April 4, when it opens the conference season with a doubleheader against Hawai?i and Idaho in Boise.
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.