Posted on: Wednesday, April 23, 2003

WAC tourney starts Friday at Boise State

Advertiser Staff

Boise State will host the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Championships Friday to Sunday at its Appleton Tennis Center.

Fresno State is the defending women's champion. The Bulldogs, ranked 22nd nationally, return All-American Chloe Carlotti, who is 17-2 this season and has moved up to eighth in the rankings. Southern Methodist won the 2002 men's title.

Both UH teams lost in the first round last year, by 4-2 scores.

The Rainbow Wahine take a 10-12 record and just two upperclassmen — seniors Stacy Hakikawa, out of Leilehua, and Polina Kravets, from Uzbekistan — into the tournament. Sophomore Lauren Fitzgerald has the team's best singles record (14-13), including 12-10 at No. 1. Fitzgerald and Paige Mainor are 14-7 in doubles. Mainor and Hakikawa have split time at No. 2 singles. Hakikawa and freshman Mio Fukushima are 10-6 in doubles.

SMU's men have won seven of their last nine and Gwinyai Chingoka, the 2002 WAC Freshman of the Year, has a team-high 10 victories. Rice is ranked 28th nationally and features the country's top-ranked doubles team in William and Richard Barker, who are 20-0.

The Rainbows (14-12) won four of their last seven and have five players with double-digit victories. Reginaldo Moralejo has the team's best record — 15-5 at No. 3 singles — and has won six of his last seven.

The seedings will be announced tomorrow. The women open at 8 a.m. Friday with matches between the Nos. 7 and 10 seeds and Nos. 8 and 9. Quarterfinals follow. The seven men's teams have three matches Friday, with the top seed receiving a bye into Saturday's semifinals.