Thursday, 02/05/2009

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The 41st-ranked UNM men’s tennis team (3-1) travels to Eugene, Ore., for a pair of weekend matches. The Lobos face No. 60 UC-Santa Barbara on Saturday before squaring off with host Oregon on Sunday.

The series with UC-Santa Barbara is even at 2-2, while the Lobos hold a 4-2 advantage over Oregon. The Lobos dualed the Ducks in 2008, winning 6-1.

The Lobos maintained the 41st ranking in the ITA polls released Tuesday, Feb. 3.

CHASING HISTORY
Seniors Johnny Parkes and Graeme Kassautzki are climbing the UNM all-time singles and doubles lists. Kassautzki holds the No. 6 singles spot with an all-time record of 81-40. Parkes is close behind at the No. 9 slot with a singles record of 77-39. The all-time singles leader is Divan Coetzee, who played for the Lobos from 2001-04, with a record of 96-30.

In doubles, Parkes currently ranks 16th with a 63-41 record while Kassautzki holds the No. 23 rank with a record of 54-42. The all-time doubles leader is David Kowlaski who played from 2001-05 finishing his career with a 100-40 record.

ITA INDOOR SPLIT
The Lobos competed in the ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship qualifier on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. UNM narrowly lost to No. 30 Virginia Tech, 4-3, and secured a 4-0 win over No. 64 Stetson. Seniors Johnny Parkes and Miles Bugby remain undefeated in doubles (4-0) with two wins on the weekend, including over the No. 20-ranked doubles pair in the nations, Virginia Tech’s Nicolas Delagdo and Luka Somen.

PERFECT START
Senior Johnny Parkes has yet to lose a singles or doubles match on the season. Parkes and Miles Bugby are 4-0 as a duo.

WEEKEND SWEEP FOR 2-0 START
The Lobos opened their spring campaign with a weekend sweep of two nationally-ranked teams, defeating No. 44 Indiana and No. 75 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lobos were paced by seniors Johnny Parkes, Graeme Kassautzki and Miles Bugby in the No. 1-3 positions of singles play against the Hoosiers. While the seniors all picked up wins, freshmen doubles duo Ben Dunbar and Elliot Chang clinched the doubles point with a tiebreaker win.

The Lobos defeated the Islanders with another dominant win from Parkes in singles and Parkes and Bugby in doubles. Lobo freshman Carl Ho and Phil Anderson picked up their first collegiate wins of the spring to seal the victory.

PARKES NAMED MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Johnny Parkes was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 28 for his 4-0 start. Playing at the No. 1 slot in singles, Parkes downed Indiana’s Lachlan Ferguson (6-1, 6-4) and Corpus Christi’s Mikhail Pavlov (6-4, 6-2). In doubles play, Parkes teamed with Miles Bugby for victories over Indiana’s Ferguson and Guy Kubi (8-4) and Texas A&M-C.C.’s Pavlov and Dmitry Novikov (8-5).

2009 OUTLOOK
UNM is led by seniors Johnny Parkes, Graeme Kassautzki and Miles Bugby. Kassautzki, who was ranked 86th in the nation, in the Jan. 6 ITA pre-season poll, notched three consecutive wins at the ITA All-American in early October, but was eliminated from the event’s main draw by Texas’ Ed Corrie. Kassautzki began the spring with the No. 6 singles ranking in the ITA Mountain Region.

Parkes ranks second in the Mountain Region after posting a 6-2 singles record in the fall. Parkes was ranked 116 in the nation in the preseason polls. He came one win shy of entering the finals at the ITA Mountain Regional in October. After four consecutive victories, Parkes was one of four remaining players in the draw of 128.

Parkes and Bugby began the spring with the No. 2 doubles ranking in the ITA Mountain Region. The duo won four consecutive matches at the ITA Mountain Regional in October before falling to Denver’s Andrew Landwerlen and Martin Zimmerman in the finals.

The Lobos are rounded out by sophomore Joe Wood and newcomers Phil Anderson, Ben Dunbar, Carl Ho and Matt Neeld. Ho shined in the fall, capturing the Balloon Fiesta Invite, with four singles wins. Elliot Chang joined the Lobos at semester break.

--UNM--