Several Mountain West Conference Athletes Earn Bids to Compete at NCAA Tennis Championships

Four men and three women to compete at NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships later this month

Maja Kovacek of New Mexico will compete in singles and doubles at the NCAA Championships
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May 5, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -¬ Seven Mountain West Conference student-athletes have been selected to compete at the 2005 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships later this month, the NCAA released Thursday afternoon.

Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic of New Mexico, along with Elena Gantcheva of UNLV, will compete in the women's championship, while Shannon Buck of Air Force, Henner Nehles of UNLV, and David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland of New Mexico will compete in the men's championship.

In the women's championship, Kovacek and Gantcheva earned singles bids, while Kovacek and Gersic earned a doubles bid. Kovacek, who is currently ranked No. 45, earned an automatic bid in the Central Region, while Gantcheva, who is ranked No. 34, earned an at-large bid in the West Region. Kovacek and Gersic, the nation's No. 11-ranked doubles team, earned a Central Region automatic bid.

In the men's championship, Buck and Nehles each earned singles bids, while Stotland and Kowalski earned a doubles berth. Buck, currently ranked No. 67 nationally, and Nehles, who is No. 74, each earned an automatic bid in the Mountain Region. Stotland and Kowalski, ranked No. 14, received an automatic berth from the Mountain Region. In addition, Utah's Miron Mann and Zach Ganger were named as alternates in case other teams are unable to compete.

Each region automatically qualifies four singles players and two doubles teams. Both the men's and women's singles competition is a 64-player draw, while each doubles championship is a 32-team draw. The men's and women's individual championships will take place following each team championship later this month. The men's singles and doubles competition will take place, May 25-30, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, while the women's singles and doubles competition will be conducted at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., May 23-28. Yesterday the NCAA announced the team selections and the BYU, UNLV and San Diego State women, along with the San Diego State men, all earned bids to the NCAA Championships.

For a list of the men's and women's selections, please go to www.ncaasports.com.

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