April 22, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
SDSU FACES NEW MEXICO IN MWC QUARTERFINAL MATCH
The San Diego State women's tennis team (11-12 overall, 3-5 MWC) captured the No. 6 seed in the Mountain West Conference Championship and will open the tournament against third-seeded New Mexico in a quarterfinal match at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, April 24. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. CT. If the Aztecs prevail, they will play the winner of No. 2 UNLV and No. 7 Colorado State on Friday (April 25).
LAST TIME OUT
SDSU closed out its regular season on a high note, winning each of its last four matches by a 7-0 count. The Aztecs began a busy weekend at home by downing Air Force on Friday, April 11, for their first MWC victory. The Scarlet and Black kept the momentum over the next couple days as it saw similar results against conference foes Wyoming and Colorado State. Then, in its regular-season finale on Tuesday (April 15), SDSU sent its two seniors off with a triumph over the University of San Diego. Eliska Krausova and Sisse Nielsen both won their doubles and singles matches in their final competition at the Aztec Tennis Center.
Over the four-match homestand, juniors Holly Bagshaw (No. 1) and Esther Cadua (No. 4) did not drop a set in their respective singles matches. Cadua finished the week with a combined (singles and doubles) 7-1 record, while Bagshaw posted a 5-0 mark.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
No. 49 New Mexico (14-8 overall) earned the No. 3 seed with a 6-2 record in league play. UNM is coming off a successful three-match homestand which saw the Lobos upset both Utah and BYU before falling to 24th-ranked TCU. Ola Abou-Zekry is New Mexico's No. 1 player and picked up a huge 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over No. 65 Anastasia Surkova of BYU to even the match at three.
San Diego State leads in its all-time series with New Mexico by a 16-9 count. The two teams met in a MWC dual match on April 4 with the Lobos topping the Aztecs, 4-3, in Las Vegas, Nev. UNM won the doubles point and claimed the first three singles contests before SDSU stormed back to close out the match with three wins of its own.
A FAMILIAR FOE
This will mark the third straight year that San Diego State will face New Mexico in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Championship. The Lobos were able to pull out a 4-3 win in 2006 and upset the Aztecs 4-0 last year. In the league's nine-year history, SDSU and UNM have been on opposite sides of the net at the MWC tournament five times, with the Lobos holding the 3-2 advantage.
CADUA MAKES HER MARK
After her season-long six-match winning streak was snapped at UNLV, junior Esther Cadua closed out the remainder of the dual-match schedule with four straight victories. Playing mostly at the No. 4 spot, the San Diego, Calif., native recorded a team-leading 23 singles wins, which ties her for eighth on SDSU's all-time single-season charts. Cadua also had an impressive 7-1 mark in league play. With at least 18 wins in each of her three years on The Mesa, the 2007 MWC all-academic selection currently sits at No. 11 in the Aztec record book with 61 career victories.
JUNIOR LEADERS
San Diego State's trio of juniors have accounted for half of the Aztecs' singles victories this season. In addition to Cadua's team-high 23 triumphs, classmates Milana Yusupov and Bagshaw are also at the top of the win column with 20 and 19 victories, respectively.
KRAUSOVA AND NIELSEN IN THE BOOKS
Senior Eliska Krausova picked up four wins last weekend to take sole possession of fifth place on the all-time charts with 70 career singles victories. The Prague, Czech Republic, native has posted at least 15 triumphs in each of her four years at San Diego State and had a team-high 21 wins in 2006-07.
Senior Sisse Nielsen has amassed 63 individual doubles victories, tying her for eighth place in the Aztec record book with three-time All-American and SDSU Hall of Famer Nicole Storto. The Alleroed, Denmark, native is also tied for sixth on the single-season charts as she teamed with former Aztec Dita Hauerlandova to record 19 wins in 2005-06. For their efforts, Nielsen and Hauerlandova earned a final national ranking of No. 31 and garnered all-MWC accolades.
MATTERA AT THE HELM
Peter Mattera is in his 27th year 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.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the opening of the Aztec Tennis Center in 2005, SDSU has won 71 percent of its home matches, posting a 35-14 record. All 14 defeats have come at the hands of teams ranked in the top 60.