The UNM women's tennis team will try to dominate its last home matches of the season this weekend, and if its fiery leader has her way, the Lobos should have a screaming good time.
UNM (10-9, 3-2 in the conference) battles the University of Wyoming Saturday and Colorado State University Sunday in Mountain West Conference play. With a win in either match, the Lobos wrap-up the third seed in the conference tournament, which takes place April 25-27 in Provo, Utah.
But while seeding for the tournament is still up for grabs, one thing is for certain this weekend - the Lobos' lone senior Courtney Choate will be heard.
If Choate is not cheering teammate Sandy Lukowski with the nickname she gave her -"Lets go Rocket" - she is encouraging her team to improve its play.
"She is an excellent team player," head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said. "When she is not on the court, you can definitely hear her. She cheers the hardest for her teammates."
Choate also is emotional when she is on the tennis court, pumping her fist in excitement after a good play or yelling at herself in frustration after a bad shot.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"Hopefully, I will be remembered as a team leader, the girl that was full of fire," she said. "When I wasn't on the court, I was always cheering for everyone, trying to liven the team up. I am always the one trying to motivate the team. When I am on the court, I play with a lot of fire."
Choate also will be remembered as a winner. She has racked up the ninth most wins in school-history with 119, including 59 singles victories.
"I am grateful for the fact that I have been able to play for four years," Choate said. "That is a great achievement for me. That was one of my goals."
She will try to help her teammates reach their objective - preventing an upset by two of the worst teams in the conference.
While the 55th-ranked Lobos are third in the Mountain West, Wyoming (6-10, 1-4) and CSU (6-12, 1-4) are tied for sixth place. UNM also owns a 19-0 record all-time versus the two opponents, including 12-0 against the Rams.
"We have worked real hard and we have to focus on these smaller matches," Choate said. "Sometimes when you are the underdog you play better. We have to make sure we stay on top of our game and not let it slip through the cracks. Plus we want to go into the conference (tournament) seeded number three."
Kolankiewicz said the Lobos are confident heading into the matches because the team is probably playing its best tennis of the season after a rough start.
"We are young and the players are getting better each match, but the last three weeks we have really picked it up a little bit," she said. "I feel good going into this weekend. It's two matches we need to win."
But she adds that UNM needs to be wary of both opponents because they are improving as well.
Wyoming won its first conference match in the Mountain West's three-year history last week and CSU nearly upset the Lobos last year, losing 4-3.
Kolankiewicz said she thinks being the favorite adds more pressure to her young team and that the other teams have an advantage because they have nothing to lose.
"I let the team know exactly where we stand and how we should win these matches this weekend, but that we certainly can't take anything for granted," she said.
The match Saturday is at 2 p.m. and Sunday's match is at 11 p.m. at the Lobo Tennis Club.
