Feb. 6, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
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SDSU OPENS TWO-MATCH HOMESTAND THIS WEEK
* Coming off its first road trip of the season in Hawaii, the 46th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team returns home this week, playing host to a pair of nationally ranked opponents. The Aztecs will face No. 54 LSU on Wednesday, Feb. 7, before squaring off against 52nd-ranked Arizona on Friday, Feb. 9. Both contests are scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m. PST at Aztec Tennis Center.
SDSU split two matches on its excursion to Honolulu last week, defeating Hawai'i, 4-3, on Thursday night before suffering a 7-0 blanking at the hands of then-No.55 UC Irvine on Saturday.
Senior Alesya Vidov came up big in the Aztecs' triumph over the Rainbow Wahine, teaming with freshman Ozge Atalay at the No. 2 position to claim the crucial doubles point. Later in singles play, the Moscow, Russia, native clinched the match for the Scarlet and Black with a straight-set victory over UH's Julia Hodes on the No. 2 court.
Last Saturday's dual with UCI featured the return of Milana Yusupov to the SDSU lineup. The sophomore from Holon, Israel, appeared in just six matches during the fall tournament season while battling a wrist injury.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
* LSU will look to complete its first two dual matches of the 2007 campaign when it visits "America's Finest City" this week. Prior to Wednesday's showdown with the Aztecs, the Tigers will visit the University of San Diego for a Tuesday clash against the Toreros. LSU actually opened its season on Jan. 31 with a home match versus Louisiana-Lafayette. In that contest, the Tigers were one team point away from tasting victory when Mother Nature intervened. After a one-hour rain delay, the match was postponed and will be replayed in its entirety at a later date.
Individually, LSU is led by sophomore Megan Falcon, who boasts a No. 2 ranking in the latest ITA singles poll released last month. Falcon compiled an 11-2 record during the fall tournament season, defeating eight nationally ranked players. The Alameda, Calif., native has also displayed her talents in doubles competition, earning a No. 10 ranking alongside freshman Hannah Robinson. The Tiger tandem posted an 8-1 mark during the fall, with its lone defeat coming in the final of the Wilson/ITA Southwest Regional Championship in October.
Sophomore Mykala Hedberg is LSU's other nationally ranked player, breaking into the ITA singles poll at the No. 83 position.
SERIES HISTORY VS. LSU
* The Aztecs and Tigers will meet for the first time since the 1979 season when the Scarlet and Black prevailed, 7-2, in an AIAW Tournament match at Iowa City, Iowa. SDSU is 13-5 all-time versus opponents from the Southeastern Conference. The last time San Diego State encountered an SEC foe in dual-match play was in 1993 when the Aztecs posted a 5-1 victory over Kentucky at the old SDSU Courts.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
* Arizona will be looking to end a three-match slide when it visits The Mesa on Friday, After winning their home opener against Northern Arizona on Jan. 20, the Wildcats have dropped three in a row, including a 4-3 setback in their last outing against No. 23 Fresno State on Feb. 3. In last Saturday's contest, Arizona claimed the early doubles point, but the Bulldogs took four straight matches in singles play to escape with the win.
The Wildcats feature two doubles teams ranked in the top 50 nationally according the latest ITA poll. The tandem of Danielle Steinberg and Juliettte Mavroleon occupies the 40th position, while the duo of Kasia Jakowlew and La Jolla native Camelia Todorova follow closely behind at No. 43.
Steinberg, Mavroleon and Jakowlew have been the primary trio at the top of Arizona's singles ladder so far this season. All three players share the team lead with six victories apiece.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ARIZONA
* The Aztecs own a 12-5 all-time record against the Wildcats, the second-highest number of victories against a Pac-10 opponent behind Arizona State (14). SDSU last met Arizona in 2002 when the Scarlet and Black suffered a 4-3 heartbreaker during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Trailing 3-2, the Wildcats regrouped in time to claim the final two singles matches and escape with the win.
AZTECS IN THE POLLS
* After last weekend's split with Hawai'i and UC Irvine, SDSU slipped to No. 46 in the latest FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released Feb. 6 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The next team poll is scheduled to be released Feb. 13.
Individually, sophomore Holly Bagshaw and junior Eliska Krausova opened the spring season ranked among the top 100 players in the nation according to the first ITA singles poll issued Jan. 9. Bagshaw came in at No. 51, while Krausova found herself in the 69th spot.
This marks the first appearance of two Aztec players in the same singles poll since April 21, 2003, when Silvia Tornier and Lindsey Hedberg were ranked 86th and 96th, respectively. The next individual rankings will not be released until Feb. 21.
In doubles, the tandem of Krausova and junior Sisse Nielsen finished the fall campaign ranked 14th in the West Region according to the ITA.
MATTERA MAGIC
* Peter Mattera is in his 26th season at San Diego State and 14th as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In 13-plus seasons, the Aztecs' mentor has guided SDSU to nine postseason appearances, compiling a record of 206-126 (.620) in the process. Equally impressive is the fact that 11 of his 13 squads have finished with an overall record of .500 or better despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation on an annual basis.
HOME COOKING
* Since the opening of Aztec Tennis Center in 2005, SDSU has won 76 percent of its home matches, posting a 19-7 record. Against ranked opponents, the Aztecs are 13-7, including a 1-1 mark against teams in the top 10. The highest-ranked opponent to fall victim to the Scarlet and Black at the friendly confines of ATC was No. 8 Washington, which suffered a 5-2 defeat on March 5, 2005, just the third match ever at the now two-year-old facility.