MEGALE NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Boise State's Lauren Megale has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 17-23.
Megale, a senior from Boise, Idaho (Arizona State), went undefeated in both singles and doubles play at the No. 1 position in matches against Denver and Colorado during the week. Against DU, Megale and teammate Marlena Pietzuch picked up a win at No. 1 doubles with an 8-6 victory over Sophia Bergner and Steffi Rath. Megale also claimed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Bergner at No. 1 singles. Megale once again teamed with Pietzuch in doubles play against Colorado, this time picking up an 8-3 win against Michala Hedelund Jensen and Abbie Probert at the No. 1spot. Megale capped off her undefeated week with a victory over Colorado's No. 1 Erin Sanders in straight sets (6-2, 6-2).
Other female nominees included: Victoria Lozano, Idaho; Laura Pola, Fresno State; Ginet Pinero, New Mexico State
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the Jan. 25 ITA rankings, Boise State is the only WAC team ranked in the top 50, coming in at No. 38.
The Fresno State Bulldogs has two singles players ranked in the top 100. Marianne Jodoin garners the No. 75 ranking and freshman Abby Hayley earned the No. 81 ranking nationally. The two are also the only WAC singles players ranked in the top 100.
In doubles, Boise State has two teams ranked in the top 100. Marlena Pietzuch and Sonia Klamczynska are ranked No. 77, while Lauren Megale and Sonia Klamczynska are ranked No. 90.
BOISE STATE OPENS SEASON WITH TWO DUAL VICTORIES
The No. 38 ranked Broncos enjoyed a strong start to the 2011 season with a 5-2 win at the University of Denver on Jan. 21 in Denver, Colo. The Broncos swept all three doubles matches and scored wins in four singles matches. Lauren Megale had a nice showing at No. 1 with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Sophia Bergner of Denver.
Boise State completed a weekend sweep of its road trip to Colorado, with a 6-1 win over No. 71 University of Colorado on Jan. 23 in Boulder, Colo. Megale and Marlena Pietzuch clinched a doubles point at No. 1 with an 8-3 win against Michala Hedelund Jensen and Abbie Probert. The Broncos lost just one doubles and one singles match to the Buffaloes on the day.
FRESNO STATE COMES AWAY FROM INVITE SATISFIED
Playing against top competition in No. 10 ranked California, No. 40 ranked Saint Mary's and No. 64 ranked Cal Poly, the Bulldogs held their own at the California Winter Invitational on Jan. 21-23 in Berkeley, Calif. Junior Laura Pola had a good showing for the Bulldogs posting two doubles victories and a singles victory after taking on top competition over the weekend. Pola's singles victory cames against Cal Poly's Florence Lehane, 6-2, 6-3. Doubles partners Abby Hayley and Olga Kirpicheva were victorious over California's Stephany Chang and Alice Duranteau, 8-3.
IDAHO PERFECT IN FIRST TWO DUALS OF 2011
Idaho beat both Seattle and Lewis-Clark State College 7-0 with straight-set wins in 11 of 12 singles matches, and all six doubles matches. Only Victoria Lozano's No. 1 match against LCSC's Dominika Jasova went into a third set, as Lozano topped Jasova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Idaho's win over LCSC featured two 6-0, 6-0 victories, as Barbara Maciocha and Molly Knox each completed the sweep at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions.
NEW MEXICO STATE SPLITS DUAL MEETS TO OPEN 2011
The Aggies dropped their opening meet to No. 29 ranked UNLV, 5-2, on Jan. 22 in Las Vegas, Nev., but rebounded by defeating Pacific the next day. The Aggies claimed the doubles point against UNLV by winning two of the three matches, while Sophomore Ginet Pinero earned the singles point by winning a match over Adrienn Hidvegi due to retirement.
New Mexico State earned its first win by narrowly defeating Pacific 4-3. The Aggies were able to win the doubles point by winning two of the three matches. NM State split the singles matches with Pacific, winning matches in the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots. Manon Sylvain defeated Julia Hansen of Pacific in three sets, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Freshman Annemieke Witte won in straight sets against Shabby Eslami, winning 6-4, 6-3. Sophomore Ginet Pinero won in straight sets as well, defeating Sara Irvin 6-4, 6-3.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN BOISE
The 2011 WAC Tennis Tournament will be held April 27-May 1 in Boise, Idaho.
Top-seeded Boise State earned its first-ever WAC Women's Tennis Championship last season with a 4-3 win over No. 3-seed Fresno State in the title match. The Broncos' victory ended the Bulldogs streak of eight-straight titles.