Feb. 20, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
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AZTECS SET TO HOST HAWAI'I IN LONE MATCH THIS WEEK
The 50th-ranked San Diego State women's tennis team (4-4) will look to snap its three-match losing streak on Friday, Feb. 22, when the Scarlet and Black takes on the University of Hawai'i at 2 p.m. at the Aztec Tennis Center.
Last week, SDSU dropped a pair of matches to two top 20 teams. In a mid-week contest at 17th-ranked Pepperdine (Feb. 13), the Aztecs fell, 7-0, before being swept again by then No. 11 USC on Friday, Feb. 15.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Coming off a four-week hiatus, Hawai'i (0-3) will be looking to break into the win column during its first road trip of the spring season. UH will head to the University of San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 21, and will make its way to the Aztec Tennis Center on Friday, before tangling with UC San Diego on Sunday, Feb. 23.
All three of the Rainbow Wahine's losses have come to nationally ranked teams, as they stumbled against No. 13 Baylor (6-1) and suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of No. 26 BYU. Most recently, Hawai'i dropped a 7-0 decision to 72nd-ranked Washington (Jan. 20).
Individually, sophomore Sophie Kobuch, who earned a No. 67 national ranking in the latest ITA poll, leads Hawai'i with a 4-2 record in the spring. The Tournefeuille, France, native started dual-match play with two consecutive wins, including a straight-set victory over BYU's 59th-ranked Anastasia Surkova.
SERIES HISTORY VS. HAWAI'I
San Diego State leads in its all-time series with Hawai'i by a 6-0 count. Last year, the two teams met for the first time since 2003, with the Aztecs pulling out a 4-3 victory in Honolulu. SDSU captured the doubles point before the Rainbow Wahine tied the match at 2-2, but the Aztecs were able to withstand a pair of three-set challenges to escape with the victory.
WELCOME BACK
Third-year Hawai'i head women's tennis coach Jun Hernandez will be returning to his alma mater, as the 1995 San Diego State graduate lettered for the Aztec men's tennis team from 1993-94. Hernandez teamed with Mike Paradowski to lead the Aztecs with 17 doubles wins in 1994, and was also an all-conference singles performer that same year.
TOUGH SCHEDULE, TOUGH RESULTS
The SDSU women's tennis team has been shutout by a top 40 team in each of its last three outings. After falling at No. 37 Long Beach State, the Aztecs were held scoreless by 17th-ranked Pepperdine and No. 11 USC. Junior Holly Bagshaw came very close to upsetting the Waves' then No. 99-ranked Sylvia Kosakowski, but eventually fell in a three-set heartbreaker, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6.
AZTECS IN THE POLLS
San Diego State is ranked 50th in the nation according to the poll released Feb. 20 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Individually, freshman Julia Trunk remained among the top 100 singles players in the nation, coming in at No. 71.
SDSU LEADERS
Bagshaw and Trunk are tied for the team lead with 12 singles victories in the 2007-08 campaign. In addition, Bagshaw, Esther Cadua, Sisse Nielsen and Milana Yusupov all have four dual-match wins to pace the Aztecs in the spring.
Cadua and Trunk have been the top performers for SDSU in doubles action with an 8-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in dual-match play.
KRAUSOVA IN THE BOOKS
Senior Eliska Krausova ranks 11th on the all-time singles charts with 61 career victories. Krausova has posted at least 15 wins in each of her three years at SDSU and had a team-high 21 victories in 2006-07.
NIELSEN ON THE VERGE
Senior Sisse Nielsen is three wins away from breaking into SDSU's all-time top 10 with 59 career individual doubles victories. Nielsen sits just behind Katalina Romero and current Aztec assistant coach Lindsey Gamp, who each have 62 triumphs to their credit.
The Alleroed, Denmark, native has had much success in doubles, winning 19 times last year and posting 23 victories in 2005-06. As a sophomore, Nielsen teamed with former Aztec Dita Hauerlandova for an impressive 19-11 dual-match record en route to achieving a No. 31 national ranking in the final ITA doubles poll.
THE COACHES
Peter Mattera enters his 27th season at San Diego State and 15th as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In 14 seasons, the Aztecs' mentor has guided SDSU to 10 postseason appearances, compiling a record of 217-146 (.598) in the process. Equally impressive is the fact that 12 of his 14 squads have finished with an overall record of .500 or better, despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation on an annual basis.
FALL RECAP
San Diego State had several outstanding individual performances during the fall season, highlighted by Trunk's run at the ITA West Regionals where she defeated a pair of ranked players to reach the semifinals.
At the second SDSU Fall Classic, Bagshaw captured the Flight 1 singles title, while freshman Olivia Colman won Flight 4. Both Trunk and Colman concluded the fall with a team-high nine victories.
2006-07 REVIEW
SDSU finished the 2007 dual-match campaign with a 14-12 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs made their 20th appearance in the NCAA tournament and acheived a final ITA ranking of No. 49.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the opening of the Aztec Tennis Center in 2005, SDSU has won 68 percent of its home matches, posting a 28-13 record. All 13 defeats have come at the hands of teams ranked in the top 60.
STAY TUNED
The Aztecs will hit the road next week as they travel to Irvine, Calif., for a 1:30 p.m. (PST) match against the 36th-ranked Anteaters. On March 2, SDSU will be in Tucson, Ariz., for a 10 a.m. showdown with No. 52 University of Arizona.