April 12, 2002
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This Week
The 24th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team, 14-7 overall and 7-0 in Mountain West Conference play, concludes the regular season with a pair of home matches. The Aztecs will play host to 72nd-ranked Loyola Marymount on Saturday before entertaining San Diego on Tuesday. The USD match will be senior day, marking the final regular-season appearance for two seniors, Julie Anna Chidley and Katey Clark-Becker. The match against the Lions is slated for noon PDT, while the USD match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Weekly Rewind
For the second time in three seasons the San Diego State women's tennis team will be the top-seed at the Mountain West Conference championships. The Aztecs earned that honor this season by posting a 7-0 record, outscoring their league opponents by an impressive 40-9 margin.
San Diego State, which won the regular season in 2000, finished second in 2001 prior to claiming the title this season is 15-2 all-time in Mountain West Conference regular-season matches. The Aztecs will be the league's top-seed at the MWC Championship in Provo, Utah April 25-27.
Last Saturday, the Aztecs defeated New Mexico, 7-0. San Diego State won all three doubles matches and lost just two sets in sweeping six singles matches.
On Sunday, the Aztecs claimed a 5-2 victory at Air Force, despite holding out No. 1 singles player Silvia Tornier. It was the ninth victory in the last 10 outings for San Diego State.
In The Polls
San Diego State remained in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings top 25 for the second consecutive week, dropping two spots to No. 24. Ranked 53rd just four weeks ago, the Aztecs dramatic rise toward the top has come on the strength of winning nine of their last 10 matches.
Another reason for the rapid rise in the polls is that San Diego State won four straight matches against nationally-ranked teams. The Aztecs disposed of 18th-ranked Notre Dame, 5-2, 41st-ranked Kansas State, 5-2, 31st-ranked Brigham Young, 5-2 and 15th-ranked UNLV 4-3 prior to the loss at Pepperdine. San Diego State responded from that setback with a 7-0 shutout victory over 50th-ranked New Mexico.
Winning At Doubles
One area where San Diego State has received outstanding play has been in doubles. The three current doubles pairings have combined to post a 28-6 record during the dual season.
At number one doubles, Katja Karrento and Katalina Romero have posted a 15-5 record, including a 6-1 mark since moving to the top doubles position. Indra Erichsen and Silvia Tornier are undefeated since teaming up, posting a 7-0 record while Julie Anna Chidley and Lindsey Hedberg are 6-1 at number three doubles.
The Aztecs combined to win 18 consecutive doubles matches earlier this season and SDSU has been victorious in 25 of their last 27 matches.
Tornier Finds A Spot In Rankings
Silvia Tornier debuted in the national rankings on Wednesday. The junior is ranked 79th in the ITA singles poll.
Tornier has won eight of her last nine matches and owns a 14-6 dual record this season. She has defeated five ranked opponents during the spring campaign and played 18 of her 20 matches in the number one position.
Quick Volleys
The Aztecs' 14-7 record this season is exactly the same record as the team had after 21 matches last season... The difference is last season the Aztecs were ranked 46th with a 14-7 mark while this season SDSU is 24th, based largely on an increased strength of schedule... Silvia Tornier, who has played 18 of her 20 dual matches at number one singles, is 14-6 in the dual campaign with five victories over ranked opponents... Katja Karrento and Katalina Romero have combined to post a 15-5 record in dual doubles competition this season... The 15 victories are the most by any Aztec pair this season and eight more than any other tandem... The duo knocked off the 53rd-ranked doubles team from Kansas State in their first match playing number one doubles.