by Tony Niklinski
Daily Lobo
The battle of I-25 officially kicked off last weekend, when the UNM men's tennis team traveled south to take part in the New Mexico State Invitational in Las Cruces.
Playing most impressively was senior standout Divan Coetzee. Coetzee put on a clinic for his New Mexico State opponent Danilo Zivanovic, winning 6-0 in both sets, making him undefeated for the year (5-0).
"Divan is a very consistent, smart player," head coach Alan Dils said.
For the past two years, Coetzee has qualified for the NCAA tournament and if he can make it to the tournament one more time, he will be the first Lobo ever to qualify three years in a row.
Another player with high expectations is Jasmin Hodzic. Hodzic is a fifth-year senior who had a solid performance, as he defeated the Aggie's JJ Brooker 7-5, 7-6.
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"Jasmin has improved his serving this year," Dils said. "His forehand is huge."
Despite long hours of practicing, traveling and competing, the men's tennis team managed to have the number one GPA among men's athletics at UNM.
As of last semester, the men's tennis team averaged a 3.5 GPA. Last semester was their sixth semester in a row leading Lobo men in academics.
Juniors Ryan Stotland and David Kowalski are arguably UNM's best doubles team. Stotland is coming off a nationals appearance in doubles . Kowalski, a New Mexico native, graduated from Carlsbad High School.
In high school Kowalski racked up a dominating record of 108-4, including 83 straight victories and three state championships - two in class 4A and one in class 5A.
Together, the two went undefeated beating NMSU's Zivanovic and Tyler Lyon 8-4. The duo is ranked 33rd in the nation and are undefeated this season.
A couple of new faces on the Lobo tennis team include Hiroud Akhavan and Robert Grzeskowiak. Both are freshmen from Toronto.
"Hiroud and Robert like the environment, team and coaches," Dils said.
Akhavan nearly went undefeated, as his tournament record was 4-1.
"Hiroud played well for his first game," Dils said. "The kid has tremendous upside to his game."
Grzeskowiak, on the other hand, went 2-3.
"Robert needs to practice more on his game," Dils said. "He needs to get up to speed, and he will be great once it all comes together."
This weekend, the Lobos will travel to Waco, Texas to play in the HEB Baylor Invitational. The tournament will have a lot of quality schools, with nationally ranked individuals.
"After this tournament, we will learn a lot about our individuals," Dils said. "We will also learn what we need to work on, in order to maintain perfection."
