Rk Pvs School Rec
t34 29 New Mexico 5-4
53 59 BYU 2-3
56 54 San Diego State 1-1
60 57 UNLV 4-2
Mtn. West Player in Singles
(Feb. 16)
Rk Pvs Individual
25 23 Katarina Malec, UNLV
t50 22 Eline Chiew, BYU
97 t44 Ana Friganovic, UNM
Mtn. West Player in Doubles
(Feb. 16)
None at this time
Athlete of the Week:
Katarina Malec, Sr., UNLV
UNLV¹s Katarina Malec earned the Mountain West Conference Women¹s Tennis Player of the Week honor
for the second time after posting three singles and three doubles wins against conference opponents,
despite the Rebels going 1-2 as a team.
Playing in the No. 1 singles position, Malec defeated three nationally ranked opponents in straight
sets as she completed one of the most impressive individual weekend¹s in UNLV history. A senior, who
is currently ranked No. 23 in singles, Malec improved to 19-3 overall and 6-0 in duals. Playing
indoors for the first time, Malec defeated the only player in the conference who is ranked ahead of
her when she downed No. 22 Eline Chew at BYU (6-3, 6-4) on Feb. 11. The next day, she defeated
Utah¹s No. 81 Megan Payne-Dorny (6-2, 6-2) then capped the weekend with a 6-3, 6-2 win over New
Mexico¹s No. 44 Ana Friganovic. In doubles play, Malec teamed with Marianne Bakken for three wins in
the No. 1 slot to improve their record to 8-2 overall.
Mountain West Conference Women¹s Tennis Players of the Week: Feb. 2 Katarina Malec (Sr.) UNLV,
Feb. 9 Megan Payne-Dorny (Sr.) Utah, Feb. 15 Katarina Malec (Sr.) UNLV.
UNLV Host of 2000 Mtn. West Women¹s Tennis Championship
The inaugural Mountain West Conference Women¹s Tennis Championship will be hosted by UNLV in Las
Vegas, Nev. All eight Mtn. West women¹s 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 Women¹s 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
The spring portion of the schedule got underway for Air Force with the Falcons sweeping all three of
their opponents over the weekend. AFA is off to its best start at the Div. I level. No. 1 singles
player, Kristel Chuntraruk, became the first academy player to defeat a regionally ranked Div. I
opponent, when she downed Missouri¹s Kristina Olshanskya (6-1, 6-4). The Falcons play at San Diego
and Point Loma Feb. 18 and 19. BYU started the conference portion of its season with a pair of 5-4
wins. The Cougars defeated UNLV Feb. 11, then New Mexico on Feb. 12. BYU returns to action vs. SMU
on Feb. 25. Idle last week, Colorado State returns to action on Feb. 18, facing Hampton in the first
round of the New Mexico State Invitational. The highest ranked team in the Mtn. West at a tie for
No. 34, New Mexico went 2-1 in conference action this past week. Playing at the University of Utah,
the Lobos defeated Utah and UNLV, but lost at BYU. This week, the Lobos face Pepperdine in the first
round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisc., on Feb. 18. Rain forced
the cancellation of both San Diego State women¹s tennis matches at Stanford and Cal last week. The
Aztecs return to action Feb. 18 and 19, hosting Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State. Although her
team went 1-2 in conference action, UNLV¹s Katarina Malec won all three singles and doubles matches
to claim the Mtn. West Player of the Week honor for the second time in three weeks and climb to No.
25 in the singles rankings. The Rebels lost at BYU, defeated Utah then fell to New Mexico. UNLV is
off until Wed., Feb. 24 at Fresno State. Utah suffered a pair of conference losses falling to New
Mexico and UNLV last week. At No. 1 singles Megan Payne-Dorny defeated UNM¹s Ana Friganovic for the
first time in her career. Playing at Air Force, Wyoming defeated Montana State in its only action.
The Cowgirls travel to Nebraska where they will face the Cornhuskers on Feb. 19 and Bowling Green on
the 20th.
