April 2, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU HEADS TO LAS VEGAS FOR MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WEEKEND
The San Diego State women's tennis team (7-9 overall; 0-2 MWC) is looking for its first conference win as it heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for a trio of matches. The Aztecs will open their busy weekend by squaring off with No. 55 New Mexico on Friday (April 4) before returning to the courts on Saturday (April 5) for a showdown with No. 24 TCU. SDSU will conclude its stay in Sin City on Sunday (April 6) when it is pitted against host and 58th-ranked UNLV. All three matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (PDT) at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
The Scarlet and Black opened last week's action by sweeping through doubles play and winning five of six singles matches for a convincing 6-1 victory over Harvard on Tuesday, March 25, at the Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU was unable to carry its momentum into the weekend, however, as it dropped a pair of Mountain West Conference matches in its league-opening road trip to Provo, Utah. The Aztecs put up a fight against No. 56 Utah in a neutral-site clash, but came out on the short end of a 4-3 score. Esther Cadua, Eliska Krausova and Milana Yusupov each won their singles matches in the loss. The following day, SDSU fell, 4-1, to host and 47th-ranked Brigham Young. Cadua claimed the Aztecs' lone point with her fifth straight singles victory.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
New Mexico (11-6 overall; 3-0 MWC) is riding a four-match winning streak as it cruised to three victories last weekend. The Lobos defeated both Wyoming and Colorado State by a 6-1 margin and downed Air Force, 7-0, in Forth Worth, Texas. Ola Abou-Zekry, who was ranked 123rd in the latest ITA singles poll released April 2, plays at the No. 1 spot for UNM and picked up three triumphs last weekend to improve to 12-10 on the season. Also in the mix is Sandra Zmak who holds a 20-10 overall record. Zmak has also combined with Lucy Scott to post a team-leading 12 doubles victories. San Diego State leads in its all-time series with New Mexico by a 16-8 count. Last year, the Aztecs defeated the Lobos, 5-2, during the regular season, but fell 4-0 at the conference tournament.
SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS
TCU (13-4 overall; 3-0 MWC) opened its MWC slate at home last weekend and came away with three big wins. The Horned Frogs swept both Air Force and Colorado State before defeating Wyoming, 5-2. No. 63 Nina Munch-Soegaard is TCU's top player and has won five straight matches for an 11-5 overall record. Anna Sydorska is also among the top 100 in the nation, coming in at No. 86, while Katariina Tuohimaa has posted a team-leading 14 victories. Sydorska and Macall Harkins earned a No. 12 ranking in doubles by pacing the Frogs with a 12-2 mark. SDSU trails in its short series with TCU by a 2-1 count as the Horned Frogs gained the advantage with a 6-1 victory in Forth Worth, Texas, last year.
SCOUTING THE LADY REBELS
UNLV (9-7 overall; 1-1 MWC) split a pair of league matches last weekend at Brigham Young's indoor tennis complex. The Lady Rebels began their conference season with a loss to BYU, but bounced back the following day to break a four-match skid by downing Utah, 4-0. UNLV is led by its one-two punch of No. 35 Elena Gantcheva (21-10) and Kristina Nedeltcheva (13-8). The duo has also partnered up to achieve a No. 48 ranking and a team-high 11 doubles victories in dual-match play. San Diego State trails in its series with UNLV by an 11-10 count, with the Rebels claiming the last six meetings between the two teams.
CADUA ON THE RISE
Junior Esther Cadua extended her winning streak to five matches after going 3-0 in singles action last week. Playing at the No. 4 spot, the San Diego, Calif., native posted a 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 comeback victory over Harvard's Stephanie Schnitter, before dispatching Erin Monson of Utah and Dolly Chang of BYU in straight sets. Cadua, who also had a five-match unbeaten streak during the fall season, will look to improve on her team-leading 10 dual-match and 17 overall victories.
KRAUSOVA IN THE BOOKS
Senior Eliska Krausova picked up a pair of singles victories last weekend, tying her with three-time All-American and Aztec Hall of Famer, Nicole Storto, for eighth on the all-time singles charts with 65 career wins. The Prague, Czech Republic, native has posted at least 15 victories in each of her three years at SDSU and had a team-high 21 wins in 2006-07.
NIELSEN ON THE VERGE
Senior Sisse Nielsen is two wins away from cracking San Diego State's all-time top 10 with 60 career individual doubles victories under her belt. The Alleroed, Denmark, native sits just behind Katalina Romero and current SDSU assistant coach Lindsey Gamp, who each have 62 triumphs to their credit. Along with former Aztec Dita Hauerlandova, Nielsen is also tied for sixth in the single-season record books as the duo recorded 19 wins in 2005-06.
MATTERA AT THE HELM
Peter Mattera enters his 27th year at San Diego State and 15th as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In 14 seasons, the Aztecs' mentor has guided SDSU to 10 postseason appearances, compiling a record of 217-146 (.598) in the process. Equally impressive is the fact that 12 of his 14 squads have finished with an overall record of .500 or better.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the opening of the Aztec Tennis Center in 2005, SDSU has won 69 percent of its home matches, posting a 31-14 record. All 14 defeats have come at the hands of teams ranked in the top 60.
STAY TUNED
After opening its conference slate with two road trips, San Diego State will return to the ATC next weekend to continue league action. The Aztecs will take on Air Force on Friday, April 11, at 2 p.m. (PDT), before squaring off with Wyoming on Saturday (April 12) and Colorado State on Sunday (April 13). Both of the latter matches are set to begin at 10 a.m. (PDT).