April 27, 2000
LAS VEGAS - The 31st-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team played through high temperatures but still managed to blank Air Force, as the Aztecs rolled into the semifinals with a 6-0 victory in the first round of play in the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Thursday.
The top-seeded Aztecs avoided doubles play by sweeping all six singles matches from the eighth-seeded Falcons. Winning for SDSU were Whitney Wells, Laura Aguero, Katja Karrento, Lindsey Hedberg, Katey Becker and Julie Chidley. The top two matches went to three sets, however, and extended the match to two-and-a-half hours.
"Its always good to get through the first round," SDSU head coach Peter Mattera said. "This was a hard-fought match. We had some first round jitters and played sluggish to begin with. But by the midpoint of the match we started playing much better and really took control of things.
"We heard Air Force was a pesky team and they played as good as advertised and that made for an entertaining college tennis match. The heat didn't seem to be a factor with us. I know we are used to it more than Air Force."
The Aztecs, who improved to 14-8 overall and 3-1 in the MWC, will play fourth-seed and host UNLV Friday at 2 p.m. in one semifinal. Air Force, which dropped to 13-8, 0-4, will take on Utah, which was a 5-0 loser to the Rebels.
"UNLV's match was over very quickly so they had to have played well," Mattera said. "We had a tough match with them at home (SDSU defeated UNLV on April 1, 6-3) and we expect the same Friday."
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 27, 2000
First Round
Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
Final Score
(1) SAN DIEGO STATE 6
(8) AIR FORCE 0
SINGLES
1. Whitney Wells (SDSU) def. Kristel Chuntraruk (AFA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1*
2. Laura Aguero (SDSU) def. Brooke Parsons (AFA) 6-7, 6-2, 6-1
3. Katja Karrento (SDSU) def. Nadine Lynn (AFA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Lindsey Hedberg (SDSU) def. Julie Weiss (AFA) 6-2, 6-1
5. Katey Becker (SDSU) def. Ashley Gee (AFA) 6-2, 6-2
6. Julie Chidley (SDSU) def. Kelli O'Bryant (AFA) 7-5, 6-4
Records: SDSU 14-8, Air Force 13-8