Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz looks for her 350th win when the University of New Mexico women’s tennis team takes on No. 69 Wichita State on Saturday at 10 a.m at the Randy Briggs Indoor Tennis Bubble. The Lobos (3-7) are coming off a big 5-2 win against in-state rival New Mexico State.

The Shockers come to Albuquerque after defeating Penn State, 6-1, in University Park, Pa. on March 7. Wichita State is 9-2 on the season, losing only to BYU and Nebraska. The Shockers have six players with six or more singles wins this spring season and the team is 23-6 in doubles play.

Wichita State is coached by Chris Young, who has compiled a 111-65 all-time record. The Shockers return six letterwinners who helped lead the team to a 16-8 record and a second place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference last year.

What Happened Last Time?

Last time these two teams met was March 26, 1999 in Albuquerque. The Lobos defeated the Shockers, 9-0. New Mexico has an all-time record of 4-3 over Wichita State.

What Have The Lobos Lately?

New Mexico ended its 5-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over New Mexico State on March 8. The Lobos dominated in singles play. Victoria Tessmar was the first to put her match away, defeating Aleksa Costa, 6-1, 6-0.

Ashley Bonner came back after losing the first set to Natalia Salum Soto and dominated the next two sets, winning the match 6-7 (10-8), 6-2, 6-1.

Mackenzie White didn’t waste anytime getting a win, downing Laura Boguet, 6-3, 6-4.

Ola Abou-Zekry kept the day interesting with a back and forth match against Sophia Marks. The decision was made when Abou-Zekry won the second set in a 7-2 tiebreaker to make the final score 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).

Emma Hayman wasn’t going to go down without a fight. After winning the first set 6-2, Hayman lost a little of her momentum and fell 6-7 in the second against Stephanie Eusebe. With the victory on the line, Hayman downed Eusebe in the third set, 6-1.

The victory gave head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz 349 career wins.

Strength of Schedule...

Lobos have started out with a very tough schedule. New Mexico has already played four teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year. Six opponents are ranked in the top 50 of the ITA poll and nine finished the 2008 season with winning records.

National Spotlight…

The Mountain West Conference has two teams in the top 50 on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. TCU comes in on top at No. 21, SDSU at No. 28 next Utah at No. 51 and BYU lands at No. 58.

On The Rise...

Senior Ola Abou-Zekry needs one more win in singles play to break into the top 16 Most Career Singles Wins. Abou-Zekry currently has 63 career singles wins.

Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz now has 349 career wins under her belt and will be looking for her 350 this weekend.

Did You Know…

·       Six of the ten players on the roster are international.

·       Two of the players are native New Mexicans.

·       This past summer all of courts (indoor and out) were resurfaced along with the indoor courts all receiving new hardware.

·       The Lobos have had a winning record for the past 12 years.

·       The Lobos earned a 3.65 GPA for the 2007-2008 school year. Seniors Ola Abou-Zekry, Maria Sotirchos and Mackenzie White all received above a 4.0 for the 2008 fall semester.