April 4, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
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SDSU Women's Tennis Welcomes Four MWC Schools To Aztec Tennis Center This Week
San Diego State (11-6; 2-1 Mountain West Conference), winners of eight of its last 10, will play host to four MWC schools this week beginning on Friday, April 7. UNLV and Wyoming will get things started at 10 a.m. PDT, with the Aztecs and Colorado State squaring off at 2 p.m. On April 8, Air Force and UNLV will play at 10 a.m., with SDSU and Wyoming to follow at noon. Then to round out the weekend, Air Force and SDSU will kick things off at 9 a.m., while the CSU-UNLV match will get underway at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 9.
The Aztecs, in a three-way tie for third with Brigham Young and UNLV, head into the big conference weekend having lost its most recent match to No. 19 Harvard, 4-3, on March 29.
Following this weekend's matches, No. 34 San Diego State will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to wrap up league action against conference leaders New Mexico (April 14) and TCU (April 15).
Front Range Dominance
SDSU enters this weekend's action against CSU, UW and AFA having never tasted defeat. The Aztecs are a perfect 25-0 against this weekend's competition with an 11-0 record against the Rams, and 7-0 marks vs. both Air Force and Wyoming.
A Look at Colorado State
Colorado State enters the first of three matches in San Diego with an overall record of 9-8 and league mark of 2-2. The Rams are coming off a 4-3 win over rival Wyoming, but had lost three straight before its victory over the Cowgirls on April 1. CSU is led by its nationally-ranked singles player in No. 121 Emily Kirchem. Kirchem is 12-5 this season with all 17 decisions coming at No. 1 singles. Anne Andersen is also having an outstanding year as she, too, is 12-5 at No. 2. The two are also doubles partners at the top position and are 13-4 in 2006.
A Look at Wyoming
Wyoming visits San Diego with a 7-10 record (0-4 MWC) having lost three consecutive matches. The Cowgirls last tasted defeat at Hawai'i when it posted a 4-3 on March 17. Wyoming has struggled at the No. 1 position, but Karolina Rowinski has tallied an 8-2 record at No. 2, while Andrea House has gone 11-6 at No. 4. In doubles, Rowinski and Patricia Chien compete at No. 1 and have posted a 4-6 record thus far.
A Look at Air Force
Air Force is 9-13 overall with a 1-3 record in MWC action. The Falcons recently beat the No. 19 team in Division II in Tarleton State, 4-3, on March 25. That same day, AFA dropped a 7-0 decision to conference newcomer TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. Playing at No. 1 singles for the Falcons is Kat Bushey, who is 12-10 this spring. She and Christine Abayan play at the top doubles position and have accumulated a record of 14-8.
Hauerlandova Earns Ranking
Senior Dita Hauerlandova is ranked as the No. 84 singles player in the country according to the latest ITA poll released April 4. She is 7-10 on the season, all at No. 1, and is coming off a victory over 18th-ranked Olga Boulytcheva of BYU on March 25. This is the second time Hauerlandova has cracked the poll with her first and highest ranking of No. 81 coming on Feb. 24, 2004.
Upset City
Alesya Vidov recorded her first win over a nationally-ranked opponent when she defeated 85th-ranked Elsa O'Riain of Harvard, 6-1, 6-2. Prior to her victory, she had not beaten a player ranked in the ITA singles poll in 12 previous tries. The win was the team's second against ranked opposition this season as Dita Hauerlandova defeated No. 18 Olga Boulytcheva of BYU on March 25.
Closing in on 200
Head coach Peter Mattera is closing in on the 200-win plateau with 198 career victories. Mattera, in his 13th season on Montezuma Mesa, currently has a record of 198-121 with this season being his 11th with double digit victories. In his previous 12 years, the Aztecs have never finished outside of the ITA rankings and only twice has SDSU not finished the season with a record of .500 or better. Adding to his already impressive resume is the fact that he has guided eight Aztec teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Eight-Match Winning Streak
San Diego State's recent eight-match winning streak was the school's longest since the 2003 season. That squad also posted eight straight victories en route to a 22-6 record, the MWC Championship title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Ironically, that team started MWC play with a 2-0 record and similar to this year's squad, had its winning streak snapped by UNLV in Las Vegas. Following the loss to the Rebels in 2003, the Aztecs lost only once more before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Nice Win
Dita Hauerlandova put the finishing touches on the Aztecs' win over Brigham Young on March 25 when she defeated No. 18 Olga Boulytcheva in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1. The win not only gave San Diego State the match, 4-3, it represented the senior's first win over a nationally-ranked opponent during her two-plus seasons at SDSU.
Strong Play at No. 3...
Eliska Krausova recently had her nine-match winning streak snapped, but has won 10 of her last 11 matches. Krausova, who plays the majority of the time at No. 3 singles, currently is 13-2 at the position with her only losses coming at Long Beach State and at UNLV. For the season, the sophomore is 13-4 with her other two losses coming at No. 2 against opponents who were ranked inside the top-20 nationally at match time (No. 3 Amanda Fink (USC) and No. 19 Suzi Fodor (California)).
...And at No. 6
Esther Cadua boasts an 11-6 overall record and is 10-4 at No. 6 for the season. The freshman from San Diego has played well all season long, recording winning streaks of at least four matches twice this year. Earlier this season, Cadua had a five-match winning streak snapped when she dropped a three-set decision against N.C. State.
Yusupov Hitting Her Stride
Milana Yusupov is playing at a high level as evidenced by her winning six of her last seven matches. The freshman has played at Nos. 3-5 this season with most of her appearances occurring at No. 4 where she is an impressive 10-5. In her first collegiate campaign, she boasts an overall mark of 11-6, tied for the second-best record on the team.
Doubles Advantage
Winning the doubles point has been a measure of success for the Aztecs as they have gone 7-1 when winning the doubles point this season. On the flip side, San Diego State is 4-5 when dropping the doubles point.
Krausova-Vidov Connection
After finishing 0-2 in the fall, Eliska Krausova and Alesya Vidov had never played a match this season in the spring together. All that changed vs. No. 67 UC Irvine, when the two were paired against Inna Agababian-Heidi Kaloi. Although the Aztecs lost the doubles point, the move paid dividends as the duo posted an 8-5 win. Ever since then, the tandem has powered through its opponents en route to a 7-3 record at No. 2.
Underclassmen Contributions
The Aztecs are getting the most out of their underclassmen this season with four currently holding positions in the singles and doubles lineup. The quartet owns a singles record of at least .500 or better with sophomore Eliska Krausova owning an 13-4 record, while winning 10 of her last 11 matches. Freshman Esther Cadua is 11-6 overall with an 10-4 mark at No. 6, while classmate Milana Yusupov is 11-6 in her first season and has won six of her last seven. Sophomore Sisse Nielsen, who had a great fall, has won seven of her last eight and is 10-6 in the spring. Altogether, the underclassmen have a singles record of 45-22. In doubles, the quartet has played at all three positions with different partners over the course of the season.
Climbing the Polls
At the beginning of March, the Aztecs were the No. 54 team in the nation and defeated unranked Idaho, No. 38 Washington and No. 36 Oregon. As a result of those three wins, the ITA moved SDSU up 14 spots to No. 40 the following week and promptly beat 38th-ranked North Carolina State and Wisconsin. Following two more victories, SDSU moved up to 29th nationally in the poll released March 14. That ranking is the Aztecs' best since being ranked No. 25 last season after defeating No. 28 Michigan and No. 8 Washington in consecutive matches. The latest poll released April 4 has San Diego State tabbed 34th.
MWC Serves Up Player Of The Week Honors For Vidov
Junior Alesya Vidov was been named Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week, the league office announced March 9. Vidov garnered her first career award on the strength of her performance in a pair of dual matches against Idaho and No.38 Washington.
In the Aztecs' 7-0 shutout of Idaho on March 3, Vidov and Eliska Krausova teamed up to defeat Idaho's Kareen Konishi and Efrat Leopold, 8-5, at the No. 2 doubles spot. Later in singles action, Vidov recorded a straight-set win over the Vandals' Mariel Tinnierello, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 2 position.
Vidov continued her strong play the following day as the Moscow, Russia, native helped the scarlet and black pull off an upset of No. 38 Washington on March 4. Against the Huskies, Vidov once again combined with Krausova as the Aztec pair routed UW's Tara Simpson and Monika Kolbovic, 8-1, helping SDSU clinch the crucial point in doubles competition. In singles play, Vidov capped off an impressive weekend, rallying from an early deficit to upend the Huskies' Victoria Brymer in a three-set battle, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Aztecs At Home
Since Aztec Tennis Center (ATC) opened last season, San Diego State has recorded a 13-5 record at home. So far this season, SDSU has been tough on opponents at home boasting a record of 7-2. Its only losses have come against fourth-ranked USC in February and No. 19 Harvard. With the win against No. 36 Oregon, No. 38 North Carolina State and No. 67 UC Irvine, the Aztecs are 3-2 this season and 8-5 overall at home against teams ranked in the ITA poll.