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2004-05 Season Recap Kowalski, Stotland, Jones Led Lobos In 2005
June 10, 2005 The 2004-05 season started out promising in the fall despite the loss of two seniors, three sophomores and two freshmen from last year's team. Seniors Ryan Stotland and David Kowalski were embarking on an unforgettable journey and freshman Max Jones was right on their heals, storming the national stage. Kowalski and Stotland, 13-5 in the fall, set the stage for a great year with their phenomenal performance at the ICY HOT/ITA All-American Championships at Chattanooga, Tenn. in Oct. Starting in the qualifying round, they worked their way into the championship match of the main draw by winning seven consecutive matches including three straight against top-20 teams. Their biggest win during that run was against the 2003-04 NCAA Doubles Champions, top-ranked KC Corkery and Sam Warburg of Stanford. Stotland and Kowalski were the first Lobo pair to ever reach the finals of a national tournament and just missed the win, falling 9-7 to Scott Green and Ross Wilson of Ohio State.
Jones also broke out at the same tournament, making waves in the singles competition. Jones, who started in the prequalifying round of 258, advanced all the way to the round of 64, played in the qualifying draw. The amazing run saw Jones defeat 79th ranked Gwinyai Chingoka of SMU, a 17th seed, 6-0, 6-4 in the Round of 128 before falling to Alabama's Luigi D'Agord, 6-4, 6-0. At the end of the fall, Kowalski and Stotland earned the top doubles ranking in Region VII announced by the ITA. Jones and freshman Kamil Pajkowski also received a regional ranking, taking 14th, the highest for an all-freshmen duo this year. Stotland also received the Lobos' highest singles ranking in the region, claiming seventh while Jones ranked 12th, the second highest for a freshman behind Boise State's Luke Shields (4th). Kowalski also made the singles rankings, taking 13th. Building even more momentum for the spring season, Kowalski and Stotland were ranked No. 3 in the nation by the ITA in doubles, the highest ranking for a Lobo in the program's history. But the extremely young team could not quite find a rhythm the entire fall, finishing the dual match season 9-8 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference. The nine wins were the fewest ever recorded under head coach Alan Dils in one season and the MWC record left the Lobos in third at the end of the regular season. It was the first time in since the 2002-03 season that the Lobos did not at least earn a share of the regular season crown. The Lobos hit their lowest point of the season at the MWC Championships. The sixth-seeded Air Force Falcons ended the eight-match losing streak they were in against New Mexico, which started in 1989. The Falcons upset the No. 61 and third-seeded Lobos with a 5-2 win in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Championships to advance to the semifinals. With the team season over, all the Lobos had left was the hope of Kowalski and Stotland realizing their dream of becoming All-Americans at the NCAA Doubles Championships. Kowalski and Stotland battled with the best in the opening round of the NCAA Doubles Championships in College Station, Texas. The duo was serving for match point in the second set but could not fend off the eventual national champions, falling 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-4 to top-seeded John Isner and Antonio Ruiz of Georgia. They finished the year ranked 19th in the nation. On a positive note, several Lobos received recognition for their accomplishments this year. Stotland was the only member of the tennis team to earn a spot on the 2005 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA District VI all-academic at-large team. Assistant coach Loren Dils was named the ITA's Assistant Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Jones became the first Lobo honored as the MWC men's tennis Freshman of the Year after posting the best record of all freshmen in the MWC, going 23-10 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles. He was the only freshman to play a substantial amount of matches at the No. 1 spot, posting a 3-4 mark after facing all but one of the MWC's top singles players. His tremendous success also lead to a berth on the all-MWC singles team, the only freshman to make the cut. Stotland and Kowalski both made the all-MWC singles and doubles teams. It is Kowalski's third time making the singles team and second on the doubles team. It is the second singles selection for Stotland and third for doubles. Kowalski and Stotland were the only repeat doubles team to earn the honor. The duo posted a 23-9 record this year in doubles including a 10-3 mark at No. 1. Kowalski tied the UNM career doubles record for wins, recording his 98th victory. In singles, Stotland saw action at No. 1 and 2, going 5-3 at each position for an overall record of 20-10. Kowalski played most of the year at No. 3, going 9-4 for a 16-11 overall record. The loss of Stotland and Kowalski to graduation will hurt the Lobos next year, returning just one senior in Eric Conklin and three sophomores in Jones, Pajkowski and Derek Lynch. But Conklin stepped into the leadership role with Kowalski and Stotland in the 2004-05 season and will continue to lead the young Lobos in his final season. Jones should have an even stronger sophomore year, ending his freshman year ranked seventh in the region in singles and 15th in doubles with Pajkowski. Dils has already begun to add to the strength of next year's team, signing one of the top-ranked players from Canada and another highly touted athlete out of England. |
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