SWENSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah State's Hailey Swenson has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Week for Jan. 31-Feb. 6.
Swenson, a senior from North Salt Lake City, Utah (Woodscross HS), went undefeated in singles play at the No. 2 position during the week in matches against WAC-rival Boise State and Portland State. In Utah State's match with No. 39 Boise State, Swenson was involved in a back-and-forth thriller as she battled the Broncos' No. 2 singles player Sonia Klamczynska. Swenson claimed Utah State's lone point in exciting fashion as she won her match against Klamczynska, 7-5, 5-7, 11-9. Swenson trailed Klamczynska in the tiebreaking set 7-1, before rallying for the comeback to take the tiebreak and the match, 11-9. Swenson recorded a doubles win and also had a shutout victory over Portland State's Anya Dalkin, 6-0, 6-0, in Utah State's 6-1 victory over Portland State.
Other female nominees included: Stephanie Jasper, Boise State; Lauren Simpson, Idaho; Marianne Jodoin, Fresno State
WAC IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the Feb. 8 ITA rankings, two of the WAC teams were ranked in the top 75. Boise state comes in at No. 38., while Fresno State is at No. 63 after previously being unranked.
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 WINS TWO, PICKS UP FIRST WAC WIN
The Broncos defeated Utah State, 6-1, on Feb. 4 to pick up their first WAC win of the season. Boise State also defeated BYU, 5-2, the following day. Lauren Megale kept things going for the Broncos at No. 1 singles as she beat Utah State's Jaclyn West, 6-2, 7-5.
FRESNO STATE WINS TWO, DROPS ONE AT HOME
The Bulldogs had three home matches over the weekend in which they lost to Saint Mary's, 5-2, but defeated Arizona, 4-3, and Nevada, 5-2. Against WAC foe Nevada, No. 75 Marianne Jodoin defeated Michelle Okhremchu at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-1.
HAWAI'I WINS ONE, DROPS TWO IN CALIFORNIA
The Rainbow Wahine lost to UC Irvine and Pepperdine during the week, but swept Cal State Fullerton, 7-0. Hawai'i won the match convincingly with 8-1 and 8-0 wins in doubles and straight set wins in all six singles matches.
IDAHO COLLECTS TWO MORE VICTORIES
The Vandals come away from the weekend with two road victories over Portland, 4-3, and Eastern Washington, 7-0. With her match tied at 3-3 overall, Vicky Lozano trailed Portland's Sabine Fuchs, 4-0, in the third set, but Lozano rallied back to win four straight games and tie it, 4-4. After losing the next game to fall behind, 5-4, she won the final three to clinch the point and the match for the Vandals.
NEVADA LOSES THREE IN CALIFORNIA; ONE WAC MATCH
The Wolf Pack lost matches to Sacramento State, 2-5, Arizona, 1-6, and WAC foe Fresno State, 2-5, while on a road trip in California. Against Fresno State, Nevada claimed the doubles point as the teams of Gabriela Eufrasio and Michelle Okhremchuk and Aodhnait Lombard and Sophie Stevens won at positions No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Sophie Stevens defeated Fresno's Olga Kirpicheva, 6-4, 7-6(5), for the singles point.
SAN JOSE STATE GETS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
The Spartans defeated UC Santa Cruz, 7-0 in the team's dual-season opener on Feb. 8. SJSU swept all six singles matches, with four straight-set victories, and took two out of three in doubles competition.
UTAH STATE SPLITS HOME MATCHES OVER THE WEEKEND
The Aggies split matches over the weekend, losing to WAC foe Boise State, 1-6, and defeating Portland State, 6-1. Senior Hailey Swenson delivered the highlights in both matches as she shutout Portland State's Anya Dalkin 6-0, 6-0, and defeated Boise State's No. 2 player, Sonia Klamczynska, 7-5, 5-7, 11-9. Swenson trailed Klamczynska in the tiebreaking set 7-1, before mustering a comeback to take the tiebreak as well as the match 11-9.
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.