Maja Kovacek is rapidly rising to the top of the NCAA women's food chain.
Kovacek is ranked No. 24 in the nation.
Here is the math: There are 220 teams that compete at the Division I level. Each of those teams has an eight-player roster for a total of 1,760 players.
To sum it up, you would never know that one of the elite tennis players in the nation could be sitting next to you in class or at the SUB.
The ranking is just a stepping stone for her.
"It feels good," Kovacek said. "It's both encouraging and adds a little bit of pressure to prove your ranking every week."
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Even though 23 players are ranked higher than Kovacek, she said she can stack up with the best of them.
"I have the right game, and I have the right talent," she said.
Kovacek's ranking is the highest that a tennis player for UNM has ever achieved.
"It means a lot for New Mexico to have someone ranked that high," she said. "It definitely looks good at all the tournaments that we go to."
The 5-foot-7-inch junior from Pula, Croatia, went 22-13 last season as a sophomore and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Kovacek was ranked 41st in the nation at the end of the fall season and moved all the way up to 24th.
Coach Kathryn Kolankiewicz said she feels Kovacek earned her place at the NCAA tournament.
"For Maja, it's well-deserved," she said. "She reached the round of 32. She belongs there."
Kolankiewicz also said when she was recruiting Kovacek, she wanted a high-caliber player who would have a great impact on the program.
Kolankiewicz said she got that.
"I hate to say that I was right, but I feel pretty good about that decision," she said.
As Mountain West Conference play begins, Kovacek will look to lead her team to a second consecutive, regular-season MWC championship.
"It's going to be really even," she said. "I don't really think that there is any clear-cut favorite."
Kovacek said University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Brigham Young and San Diego State pose the biggest threats to UNM.
Kovacek and partner Iva Gersic create a doubles team that is ranked fourth in the nation.The tandem defeated top-ranked doubles pair Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier from Northwestern at the USTA-ITA Indoor Championships two weeks ago and were winners this weekend against the top-ranked pair at Louisville.
