March 11, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs Play Host to No. 56 Iowa, Travel to Loyola Marymount This Week
The 70th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team returns to courts after a two-week layoff when it plays host to No. 56 Iowa at Aztec Tennis Center on Tuesday, March 13. Doubles action is set to begin at 2 p.m. PDT with singles to follow.
Following its home match with the Hawkeyes, SDSU will travel to Los Angeles for its annual contest with the Lions of Loyola Marymount. The non-conference tilt is scheduled for March 17 at 1 p.m.
The Aztecs (4-7) split their two most recent duals as their victory over 71st-ranked Rice snapped a five-match losing streak. SDSU won the doubles point and took its momentum into singles to take four of six singles matches to walk away with a 5-2 victory. 
Unfortunately for San Diego State, its winning streak was short-lived as it dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 18 Pepperdine in the same fashion it had beaten Rice.
After Saturday's match with LMU, the Aztecs will return to Montezuma Mesa to take on Pac-10 foe Washington, Tuesday, March 20, at Aztec Tennis Center beginning at 2 p.m.
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa (5-4, 1-0 Big Ten), much like San Diego State, has not played in some time. The Hawkeyes' last decision came on March 4, a 5-2 victory over No. 67 Minnesota.
Since starting the season at 1-3, Iowa has rebounded nicely having won four of its last five with three coming against nationally-ranked opposition. The Hawkeyes' only loss in their last five was a 7-0 drubbing to second-ranked Notre Dame.
Individually, Mili Veselinovic leads the team in singles victories with a 17-7 record with Merel Beelen right behind her at 16-4.
The Hawkeyes' match at San Diego State is the first of two in the state of California as they will travel north to Long Beach State on March 15.
Series History vs. Iowa
San Diego State holds a 3-0 lead over Iowa in the series and Tuesday will mark the first time since the 1996 season that the two schools have met. During the `96 campaign, the Aztecs rolled to an 8-1 win in San Diego. A year earlier, the Hawkeyes made the trip to Southern California only to fall to SDSU, 7-2.
Scouting the Lions
Loyola Marymount is fresh off a five-match road swing which saw it go 3-2 to put its record at 6-5 overall. After a long road trip, the Lions counter it with an even longer six-match homestand. The Aztecs will be the second of six straight opponents at LMU Tennis Center for Loyola Marymount, which welcomes Southern Miss to Los Angeles on March 16.
Despite losing its most recent match to sixth-ranked California on March 11, the Lions received a huge win in singles from Robyn Baker. The senior recorded LMU's only team point with her 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 victory over 16th-ranked Nina Henkel at No. 2 singles.
Prior to its defeat at California, Loyola Marymount had won three straight on its road trip by defeating San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Jose State.
Individually, LMU is represented by Pavla Mesterova in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Singles Rankings. The junior finds herself ranked No. 56 in the latest poll released March 6.
Series History vs. Loyola Marymount
The Aztecs and Lions will renew acquaintances for the 16th time in dual-match play on Saturday. The series has been lopsided as San Diego State owns a 14-1 all-time record against Loyola Marymount.
SDSU has won two straight in the series since losing its only match to LMU in 2004. The contest in the City of Angels will snap a 12-match string of SDSU-LMU dates in San Diego. No meeting in the series has taken place at LMU since before the 1994 season.
Key Doubles Point
Winning the doubles point for San Diego State is the key to victory as it is for most teams. Four times the Aztecs have won the doubles point to start competition and three times they walked away with the victory (vs. Cal State Fullerton, vs. UC Riverside, at Hawai'i, vs. Rice). The lone exception occurred on Feb. 16, when SDSU took two of three doubles matches and wound up falling 5-2 to Long Beach State. The six times San Diego State dropped the doubles point it resulted in six defeats.
Two and Five
In addition to winning the doubles point, one constant in the Aztecs' four wins has been the play at the second and fifth position. In each of the team's four victories, San Diego State won the doubles point and pocketed wins at Nos. 2 and 5. For the wins over Cal State Fullerton and Rice, junior Eliska Krausova occupied the No. 2 spot and classmate Sisse Nielsen played at No. 5. Due to injury, head coach Peter Mattera was forced to shuffle the lineup at Hawai'i and Alesya Vidov and Kathryn Kitts played at No. 2 and 5, respectively, while Vidov and Yuki Hagiwara earned the nod in those spots against UC Riverside.
Welcome Back Milana
Sophomore Milana Yusupov made her return to the lineup against in the neutral-site contest against UC Irvine in Hawaii. After falling to Ali Borowicz, the Israeli has won three straight at Nos. 5 and 6. Yusupov set the tone in singles play against Rice with a straight-sets victory over the Owls' Emily Braid, 6-3, 6-1, to give the Aztecs a 2-0 lead as they went on to snap their five-match losing streak.
Last season, she finished the dual season with a 14-10 record with 11 of her wins coming at No. 4. Earlier this season, Yusupov was hobbled by a wrist injury causing her to miss the first four matches of the spring season.