VERBERNE NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Emma Verberne has been named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 11-17. This is her first-ever honor.
Verberne, a freshman from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, helped Nevada pick up a 4-3 WAC win over Hawai’i, as she defeated Alyssa Nafarrete in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 3 singles.
Other nominees included: Barbara Pinterova of Hawai’i went 1-1 in singles and 1-1 in doubles on the week … Idaho’s Yvette Ly picked up the Vandals’ only singles win against Washington State.
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the Jan. 5 ITA rankings, Fresno State is ranked No. 16, while Boise State is No. 34 and Nevada came in at No. 67.
The Bulldogs’ Anastasia Petukhova is the lone WAC player ranked in the individual rankings at No. 4.
In doubles, Boise State’s Lauren Megale and Pichittra Thomgdach are ranked No. 24, while Florence De Vrye and Lais Ogata of Nevada are ranked No. 43.
NEVADA PICKS UP FIRST WAC WIN
Nevada opened conference play with a 4-3 win over Hawai’i last Saturday. After splitting the singles matches, the Wolf Pack defeated the Rainbow Wahine by taking the doubles point. Nevada picked up wins at Nos. 3, 5 and 6 singles, while Hawai’i won at No. 1, 2 and 4. In doubles, the Wolf Pack won Nos. 1 and 3 to take the point.
IDAHO’S LY EARNS ONLY SINGLES WIN VS. WASHINGTON STATE
Idaho’s Yvette Ly, who missed the fall season due to injury, picked up the Vandals’ only win in a 6-1 loss to Washington State last Friday. At No. 6 singles, Ly knocked off Jessica Gomez, 6-2, 6-2.
THONGDACH REACHES QUARTERFINALS AT INDOOR NATIONALS
Boise State’s Pichittra Thongdach advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships before falling in the third round of the singles tournament. She opened the tournament with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over No. 71 Ana-Maria Constantinescu of Oklahoma, then defeated Allie Will of Florida, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0, in the round of 16. She then fell in the round of eight to No. 4 Jana Juricova of California, 6-3, 6-2.
PETUKHOVA UPSETS TOP-RANKED SINGLES PLAYER
Fresno State’s Anastasia Petukhova finished the fall portion of the season with a run to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. In the first round, she upset her best friend and the top-ranked player in the country, Maria Mosolova of Northwestern, 6-4, 7-5. The following day, Petukhova upset No. 17 Maria Sanchez of USC. The Trojan won the first set, 3-6, but Petukhova took the next two sets, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals. In her second match of the day, she met Washington’s 58th-ranked Denise Dy, with the Husky picking up a 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory. The victory over Sanchez was Petukhova’s fifth win of the season over a ranked opponent.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN FRESNO
The 2010 WAC Tennis Tournament will be held April 29-May 2 in Fresno, Calif. The Bulldogs, winners of eight-straight WAC Tournament titles, defeated No. 2-seed Boise State, 4-3, in a match that came down to the last point to claim last year’s title.