Rk Pvs School Rec
t29 t27 New Mexico 1-3
t43 41 San Diego State 0-0
57 56 BYU 0-2
58 58 UNLV 0-0
Mtn. West Player in Singles
(Dec. 7)
Rk Pvs Individual
22 46 Eline Chiew, BYU
23 NR Katarina Malec, UNLV
t44 40 Ana Friganovic, UNM
t71 NR Lindsey Hedberg, SDSU
81 75 Megan Payne, UTAH
t101NR Natalia Alekhova, UNM
Mtn. West Player in Doubles
(Dec. 7)
None at this time
Athlete of the Week:
Katarina Malec * Sr. * UNLV
UNLV senior Katarina Malec is the first-ever Mountain West Conference women's tennis Player of the Week. A native of Warsaw, Poland and transfer from College of the Desert, Malec helped the Rebels post a pair of victories in the opening week of dual match play. UNLV defeated Nevada, Reno and Weber State by identical 8-1 scores on Jan. 28 and 29, respectively.
Playing in the No. 1 position for both singles and doubles, Malec remains undefeated in dual matches. She used three sets to defeat Nevada's Tjasa Jezernik (4-6, 7-5, 6-2), then cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Weber State's Lenka Zacharanova. Malec teamed with Marianne Bakken to also claim both doubles matches. The duo defeated Nevada's team of Jezernik and Domingo, 8-4, on Jan. 28, then repeated that score vs. Weber State's tandem of Zacharanova/Steenkamp the following day.
Ranked No. 23 in the nation in singles, Malec is now 2-0 in dual matches and stands 15-3 overall, including fall tournament action. She also stands 2-0 in doubles dual matches and is 5-3 in overall doubles play.
Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Players of the Week: Feb. 2 - Katarina Malec (Sr.) UNLV.
UNLV Host of 2000 Mtn. West Women's Tennis Championship
The inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship will be hosted by UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev. All eight Mtn. West women's tennis teams will compete in the single-elimination team event for the first league title April 27-29. Seedings will be decided by regular-season dual match results in conference matches.
All requests for media credentials for the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship should be submitted in writing to Director of Communications Elaine Adams at the Mtn. West office or UNLV Media Relations contact Mark Wallington prior to the event.
Team-by-Team Notes Air Force begins the spring portion of its women's tennis schedule on Feb. 5 vs. Colorado-Colorado Springs. BYU suffered losses in each of its first three matches. The Cougars opened the season in Minneapolis, falling to VCU, 6-0, then Minnesota, 4-3. BYU then traveled to Mississippi and was swept by the No. 7-ranked Lady Rebels. Colorado State played at Mountain West Conference foe Utah in its season opener, falling 7-2. The Rams then posted a 9-0 sweep at Utah State. Sophomores Amanda Bartz and Bobbe Vasos led the Rams by posting victories in both matches at the No. 3 and 6 singles positions, respectively. The first four matches on New Mexico's schedule were against highly ranked teams on the road. The Lobos open the home portion of their schedule this week. Tied for No. 44 in the nation, Ana Friganovic defeated the highest ranked opponent in her collegiate career as she got by No. 6 Celeste Frey of Mississippi in straight sets. San Diego State defeated St. Mary's, 8-1, in its spring opener. UNLV registered 8-1 wins in both of its first two matches under new head coach Kevin Cory, before postponing the Northern Arizona match. Senior Katarina Malec won both of her singles and doubles matches in the No. 1 slots. Utah is off to a strong start with two Mtn. West victories among its three wins. Megan Payne-Dorny has claimed all three No. 1 singles matches and is undefeated in doubles dual matches thus far. Sarah Kay claimed the only point at No. 2 singles as Wyoming suffered a loss to conference foe Utah in its season opener.
