THIS WEEK IN WAC WOMEN'S TENNIS - WAC matches get underway this week as No. 25 Boise State takes on Nevada in Las Vegas, Nev. Six of the 11 matches this week will be played on the road.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Feb. 23-March 1)
DENVER -Boise State’s Vivien Silfany has been named Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for Feb. 23 ? March 1.
Silfany, a freshman from Dakarta, Indonesia (Jubilee International School), finished 5-1 on the week, including a perfect 3-0 record in singles play. She helped her team upset No. 40 BYU, 5-2, by defeating the Cougars’ Romina Nedakovic, 6-3, 6-2. The freshman also made quick work of Emma Hayman of No. 50 New Mexico, 6-3, 6-1, to aid in the No. 46 Broncos 5-2 team win. Silfany helped complete Boise State’s 7-0 sweep of Northern Arizona after a 6-0, 6-1 win over NAU’s Orsi Golovics in the No. 3 spot. After teaming up with doubles partner Klaudia Wlodarczyk, the duo finished 2-1 with 8-3 wins over UNM’s and NAU’s No. 2 doubles teams. The pair’s only loss came to BYU’s 60th-ranked team in the country.
Other female nominees included: New Mexico State’s Paulina Zuniga, Nevada’s Florence De Vrye, Utah State’s Hailey Swenson and Fresno State’s Tinesta Rowe.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
Hitting a season-high of No. 25, the Boise State jumped 21 spots in the ITA national team rankings this week ... the ranking is the highest ITA national ranking for the Bronco women’s team on record (dating to the 2000-01 season) ... the previous highest rank the Broncos had held this season was No. 37 in the Feb. 10 poll ... the Broncos hold a 10-2 dual record this season and an 8-1 ITA Central Region record ... after an impressive three weeks, freshman Lauren Megale joined the ITA ranks at No. 123 for the first time in her short career ... after starting the season ranked No. 104, junior Pichittra Thongdach has moved up the No. 70 spot, the third-highest rated player in the conference ... this weekend, the team travels to Las Vegas, Nev., to take on 69th-ranked UNLV and WAC foe Nevada.
Fresno State Bulldogs
For the first time of the season, two Fresno State doubles teams are listed in the top-10 in the ITA rankings ... juniors Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova maintain their position as the top doubles team in the country ... seniors Tinesta Rowe and Melanie Gloria returned to the Top 10 at No. 9 ... Gloria and Rowe were ranked No. 1 to start the fall season and struggled a bit before winning seven of their past eight matches ... the duo moved five spots from their previous No. 14 ranking ... the Bulldogs have a week off to rest and prepare for their next match on March 11, at home against the University of Pennsylvania ... the match is the second of a five-match homestand.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
The Rainbow Wahine had a week off to prepare for Wednesday’s match (originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, but moved due to inclement weather) against Presbyterian College ... the match against the Blue Hose will be the only one of the week for UH, but the first match in a nine-match homestand that will encompass the full month of March ... the team played five matches in Southern California, winning its first two matches of the spring season ... UH earned wins over Cal State Fullerton (6-1) and Cal State Northridge (5-2) but lost to UC Santa Barbara (5-1) No. 8 UCLA (6-1) and San Diego (6-1 ... senior Melinda Wong won the only match against powerhouse UCLA at the No. 4 court ... junior Sophie Kobuch went 3-2 in singles at the No. 1 position on this road trip.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho brushed aside the University of Montana 7-0 to win their fifth straight match last Sunday ... Idaho swept doubles to get off to a fast start on the day ... the team has swept doubles matches in three consecutive matches ... in singles, Maria Perevoshchikova lost the first set in her No. 1 singles match but rallied to defeat Liz Walker 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 ... Alexandra Ulesanu and Daniela Cohen also fell behind early but recovered for straight sets victories ... with the win, UI improved its record to 8-4 on the season ... the Vandals are idle until March 12 when the team begins an East coast road trip with matches against Cincinnati, West Virginia and Georgetown.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
Louisiana Tech tennis picked up its first win of the season Friday at home against South Dakota State by a final score of 5-2 ... winning their matches were senior Ada Makowska at the No. 2 spot (6-1, 6-0), sophomore Rocio Juarez at No. 4 (6-1, 6-1), sophomore Mallory Smith at No. 5 (6-2; 6-3) and freshman Laura Rodriguez at No. 6 (6-0, 6-1) ... with the win, the team broke a seven-match losing streak ... Tech swept the doubles matches with the team of Makowska and senior Ashley Wedderburn winning 8-5, Juarez and freshman Maartje de Wit winning 8-1, and Smith and Rodriguez winning 8-6 ... this week, LTU prepares for Southern on March 8 and then heads to Dallas to take on No. 45 SMU.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada dropped to 1-3 on the season after two losses to two teams ranked in the top-50 ... the Wolf Pack hung tough before falling to No. 40 BYU, 4-3 ... the next day, the team traveled to No. 43 Utah, as its upset bid fell short, 5-2, in Salt Lake City ... in singles competition, Caroline Bailly picked up her first dual win of the season in the No. 2 position, defeating Monson 6-0, 6-3. Ogata defeated Johnson 4-6, 7-6, 10-5 in the No. 3 spot ... Nevada (1-3, 0-0 WAC) will return to action next weekend when the Wolf Pack will head to Las Vegas, Nev., to face No. 69 UNLV on Saturday ... on Sunday it will open its WAC season against Boise State in Las Vegas.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies improved to 5-3 on the season after finishing 2-0 on a Colorado roadtrip, defeating Air Force (4-3) and Colorado State (6-1) over the weekend ... Sophia Marks and Paulina Zuniga have combined to win 12 of NM State’s 25 singles matches this season and they both have five-match winning streaks... New Mexico State plays its second ranked team of the year this weekend when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M., to face No. 50 New Mexico on Sunday ... junior Laura Boguet and freshman Natalia Salum Soto are 3-0 together this year in doubles play ... the team has taken the doubles point in 5-of-8 matches this year.
San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State fell to 3-3 after a 7-0 loss to UC Santa Barbara over the weekend ... Olivia Marshall forced a second set tiebreak point in her singles match with Sofia Novak, but came up short 6-1 7-5 ... her match would be the only one on the day to go to a tiebreak ... the Spartans host Cal State Bakersfield this Saturday before a Sunday morning match against Southern Utah to close out the week.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State dropped to 1-7 on the season after a close 4-3 loss to Weber State over the weekend ... sophomore Hailey Swenson recorded a straight sets win (6-0, 6-0) at the No. 1 single spot ... Swenson also paired with senior Bridgette Strickland at No. 1 singles to post a 9-7 win ... this week, the team will look to break its losing streak against regional foe Idaho State ... the two teams met in late January, with USU coming out on the winning side of a 6-1 match in Pocatello.
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.