April 12, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - After breaking back into the Top 20 in this week's ITA poll, the 20th-ranked TCU women's tennis team will attempt to clinch its first regular-season Mountain West Conference crown as it heads to Albuquerque, N.M., for three matches. The Frogs control their own destiny and need to win out on the road trip to come away with the conference title. TCU (14-6 overall, 5-0 MWC) has won seven of its last eight matches.
Senior Helena Besovic, ranked 33rd in the singles poll, continues her impressive run as she pushed her win streak to 12 matches. After going undefeated in March, Besovic has posted a 3-0 mark in April which includes a victory over 23rd-ranked Olga Boulytcheva of No. 26 BYU. The Sarajevo, Bosnia, product is one of two players in TCU history to hold three separate rankings at one time. When teamed with freshman Anna Sydorska, Besovic garners the No. 13 spot in the ITA doubles poll. She also occupies the No. 26 slot when paired with junior Ana Cetnik.
Cetnik, ranked 119th in the singles poll, also holds three rankings as she is 59th in doubles with junior Karine Ionesco.
The Frogs have two other players among the ITA singles poll in sophomore Nicole Leimbach (No. 12) and Sydorska (No. 83). TCU is the only team in the Mountain West Conference with four players in the polls.
No. 48 New Mexico (13-4 overall, 4-1 MWC) has won four of its last five matches and is tied with No. 53 UNLV and No. 33 San Diego State for second place in the conference. TCU and New Mexico have met four previous times with the Frogs winning all four matches. Thursday's match, slated to begin at 4 p.m. (CST), is the first-ever meeting between the two institutions in Albuquerque.
UNLV (12-5 overall, 5-1 MWC) and TCU will square off at the UNM Tennis Center on Friday at 10 a.m. The Runnin' Rebels are 2-0 all-time versus the Horned Frogs with the last matchup coming on April 24, 1997. UNLV is led by sophomore Elena Gantcheva, who holds the No. 16 ranking in the ITA poll and boasts a record of 15-4.
In their final match of the weekend, the Frogs will take on San Diego State at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Aztecs prevailed in the only meeting with the Frogs (4-3) on March 14, 2003. San Diego State is riding a three-match win streak.
