COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three members of San Diego State women's tennis have been named to the all-Mountain West team, the conference announced Wednesday. Freshman Shakhnoza Khatamova earned both Freshman of the Year and all-singles team honors, while sophomore Nnena Nadozie made the all-singles squad and was an all-doubles selection alongside her doubles partner, freshman Alicia Melosch.
The four conference awards are the first career selections for all three Aztecs. This marks the second-ever Freshman of the Year honor in program history, and is the first time an Aztec has earned the distinction since 2010, when Alicia Aguilar was selected.
Khatamova, who earned an 8-5 overall, 1-1 MW record in dual match play this season, emerged as a standout newcomer starting in the top two positions in all but one of the 15 dual matches played this season (went 1-0 at the No. 3 position). The Uzbekistan native tallied a 4-3 record from the top singles position and recorded her first career win over a ranked opponent when she claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win over UNLV's No. 81 Aiwen Zhu, fellow first-team singles selection and the Mountain West Player of the Year.
Nadozie showed great promise in her sophomore season, finishing dual match play with a 14-4 singles record, tallying a perfect 4-0 finish in conference action. Nadozie, who captured 13 of her wins from the second and third positions, captured the team-high singles win total to finish the regular season and maintained the second-best winning streak of five straight, just one shy of classmate Abbie Mulbarger's six. Nadozie was also one of just five members of the conference to put together a 4-0 record in singles play. Heading into conference tournament play, Nadozie's career singles record sits at 22-16.
Nadozie teamed up with newcomer Alicia Melosch for a team-high nine doubles wins this season. The duo emerged on the ITA national rankings at No. 77 following the team's win over conference foe Fresno State on March 29, and kept a spot on that list for the remainder of the regular season. The duo finished the season with a 9-4 record in doubles and claimed wins in two of three conference matchups. Seven of the pair's team-high nine wins in doubles action came from the No. 1 position this season, and Nadozie and Melosch were the only Aztec pairing to play more than nine total dual matches together.
For the first time since 2012, San Diego State hosts the 2019 Mountain West Championship and enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed (13-9, 3-1 MW). The Scarlet and Black will play its first match in Thursday's quarterfinal round, when the Aztecs are set to take on the winner of Wednesday's matchup between sixth seed Colorado State and 11th-seeded Nevada.
Live stats will be available for all rounds of the Mountain West Championship, and live video will be streamed on the Mountain West Network for Friday's semifinal round and Saturday's championship match. A full bracket and tournament schedule is available on the conference website at https://themw.com/sports/2019/3/22/2019_WTEN_CHAMPIONSHIP.aspx.
Single-day admission for the conference tournament can be purchased in-person and with cash only at the Aztec Tennis Center. Ticket prices for adults will be $5 per day and $3 per day for youth (ages 3-14) and students with ID. Children ages 2 and under will be able to enter the competition venue free of charge. Tickets will be sold starting one hour prior to the first set of matches each day and stay open one hour after the scheduled start time of the last match. Tickets are valid for all matches on the date of purchase only. All-session passes are not available for the tournament.
Parking for the championship is available in Parking Structure (PS) 7, located directly underneath the SDSU Sports Deck. There are three ways to pay for parking:
- Purchase permit on-line ahead of time for $7/day. If you don't have an account, you can create one. Make sure you are logged in as a guest. Print permit and display on dash.
- Pay at the kiosk pay station on level two. You must enter your license plate number or the last seven digits of your VIN before the transaction is complete. $3/hr for 1-4 hours or $15 for 5-10 hours. If you pay by credit card instead of cash, the kiosk can send you a reminder text for $.0.25 to extend your time. No need to display permit on dash.
- PayByPhone. $3/hr for 1-4 hours or $15 for 5-10 hours plus $0.35 per transaction fee. Download the PayByPhone app or set up an account on the PayByPhone website and follow the instructions. Location code for PS7 is 28507. No need to display permit on dash. If you pay cash, no change will be given.
For additional information, please visit the SDSU parking website or contact SDSU Parking and Transportation Services at (619) 594-6671 or parking@sdsu.edu.