April 9, 2001
This Week
The 65th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team (11-7, 4-1 MWC) returns to San Diego after back-to-back weekends of competing on the road. The team closes out the Mountain West Conference portion of its schedule with matches against 46th-ranked New Mexico Friday at 2 p.m. and Air Force Saturday at 10 a.m. All home matches are held at the SDSU Tennis Courts located east of Cox Arena on campus.
Noting the Aztecs
* SDSU is on a five-match win streak and is the winner of six of its last seven.
* The Aztecs have posted wins in four straight conference matches.
* SDSU has won the doubles point in nine of their last 10 matches and has an 11-2 record this season when doing so.
* Sophomore Lindsey Hedberg has won eight of her last nine singles matches, including five straight victories at the No. 3 spot. She is 10-6 in dual matches and 14-9 overall and is unbeaten in singles in league play.
* Junior Katey Becker is on a hot streak of her own, posting six consecutive singles victories.
* Sophomore Katja Karrento is 12-5 in dual play this season and has won six of her last seven matches.
* The doubles pair of Silvia Tornier and Hedberg have posted five straight wins at No. 1.
* Senior Whitney Wells and junior Julie Chidley boast a 10-1 dual record at No. 2 doubles this season.
* The pair of Becker and Karrento are 5-0 at No. 3 doubles this year.
Recapping the Weekend
SDSU won both its conference matches this past weekend in Ft. Collins, Colo. wil relative ease. The team downed Wyoming, 7-0, Saturday and Colorado State, 6-1, a day later. Sophomore Lindsey Hedberg had her first appearance of the year at No. 1 singles Saturday and played there again on Sunday posting wins both days. The Aztecs also swept the doubles portion of both matches.
Aztecs in the Rankings
The Aztecs are ranked 65th in the nation and sixth in the West region. Senior Whitney Wells and sophomore Katja Karrento are ranked third in doubles in the region. Representing SDSU in regional singles ratings are Tornier (6), Hedberg (18) and Karrento (23).
About the Lobos
New Mexico holds an identical 4-1 conference mark to the Aztecs and is 13-6 overall. The Lobos come off a weekend that saw them defeat Hawai'i and South Florida both by a 7-0 score in Albuquerque. SDSU holds a 10-3 series advantage over UNM with the two teams last meeting a year ago in the league championships, a match the Aztecs won, 5-4. SDSU lost to UNM, 4-5, in last year's regular season matchup.
About the Falcons
Air Force (12-12, 1-4 MWC) split a pair of matches this past weekend, getting a win over over Arkansas, 6-1, before losing to Florida International, 5-2. The Academy will face UNLV Friday in San Diego before meeting up with the Aztecs on Saturday. SDSU and AFA have met once on the court with the Aztecs taking the match, 6-0, in last season's MWC championships.
Strength of Schedule
Eighteen teams on the Aztecs' spring schedule were ranked entering the season. Four schools on SDSU's docket are currently rated in the top 25: California (6), Southern California (16), Pepperdine (18) and Washington (22). Counting SDSU, five members of the league are currently ranked: Brigham Young (33), New Mexico (46), UNLV (62), Colorado State (75).
Coaching Staff
SDSU is led by eighth-year head coach Peter Mattera, who has amassed a 115-73 (61.2 pct.) record on Montezuma Mesa. Matera is assisted by Susheel Gulati, who is in her fifth year with the program. Both are graduates of SDSU. Gulati was a member of the Aztecs' All-American 1993 doubles team.
Looking Ahead
The Aztecs close out their regular season with a pair of home matches next weekend. The team meets up with Tulsa April 20 (Fri.) at 2 p.m. followed by a noon match on the 22nd against Oregon. The Mountain West Conference championships are April 26-28 in Ft. Collins, Colo., and will be hosted by Colorado State.