Barbora Zahnova defeated Maja Kovacek at No. 1 singles.
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BYU Upsets New Mexico to Win MWC Women's Tournament Title

Cougars punch ticket to NCAA Tournament.

May 1, 2004

SAN DIEGO - The No. 22 and second-seeded Cougars of BYU upset top-seeded New Mexico, 4-3, in the finals of the 2004 Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship Saturday at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

The 30th-ranked Lobos took the early 1-0 advantage by winning the doubles point. After an 8-6 win at the number three, UNM's No. 23 duo of Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski defeated BYU's 16th-ranked team of Barbora Zahnova and Sofia Holden, 8-2, at the number one for the lead.

Hadley Macfarlane got the Cougars rolling in singles play as she downed New Mexico's Tjasa Suvak, 6-4, 6-0, at the number six spot, tying the score at one. Olga Boulytcheva and Lauren Jones brought home the next two singles wins for the Cougars at the four and three positions, respectively. New Mexico fought back with a straight set win by Iva Gersic at the number two and a three-set victory by Sandy Lukowski at the number five. With the score tied at three, the women's tournament title came down to MWC Women's Player of the Year and 75th-ranked Maja Kovacek (New Mexico) and BYU's top player Barbora Zahnova (No. 37 nationally). Kovacek took the first set, 7-6. Zahnova stormed back in the second set to win 6-0 and even up the match at a set apiece. The final set went back and forth with Zahnova gaining an advantage and pulling out victory, 6-7, 6-0, 6-4, winning the Cougar's second MWC tournament crown in five years.

BYU pushed its record to 24-5 overall and will receive the automatic bid to this year's NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. The No. 30 Lobos fell to 20-4 on the year and must wait until Wed., May 5 to see if they will receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship. New Mexico's head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz was awarded Coach of the Year honors.

Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship
Fifth Place Match, Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, Calif., May 1, 2004

(2) BYU 4, (1) NEW MEXICO 3

Match Start Time: Noon PDT
Weather: 71 degrees, winds 8 mph out of W, sunny
Time of Match: 3:51

DOUBLES: (New Mexico won point)
No. 1 - Maja Kovacek/Sandy Lukowski (UNM) lead Barbora Zahnova/Sofia Holden (BYU), 8-2
No. 2 - Hadley Macfarlane/Lauren Jones (BYU) vs. Iva Gersic/Maria Ruiz-Fabrega (UNM), 6-3, DNF
No. 3 - Michelle Heidbrink/Tiffany Robertson (UNM) lead Olga Boulytcheva/Lu Oswald (BYU), 8-6

Order of Finish: 3, 1
Clinched Point: 1

SINGLES:
No. 1 - Barbora Zahnova (BYU) def. Maja Kovacek (UNM), 6-7, 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 - Iva Gersic (UNM) def. Sofia Holden (BYU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Lauren Jones (BYU) def. Tiffany Robertson (UNM), 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 - Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Michelle Heidbrink (UNM), 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 - Sandy Lukowski (UNM) def. Rebecca Pike (BYU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 - Hadley Macfarlane (BYU) def. Tjasa Suvak (UNM), 6-4, 6-0

Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1
Clinched Match: 1