by David J. Chavez
Daily Lobo
The No. 3 doubles team in the country showed why it's ranked so high this weekend at the Lobo Fall Invitational.
The UNM women's tennis duo of Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek beat the No. 21-ranked pair of Robin Stephenson and Ashley Bentley from Alabama 8-3 to take first place in the doubles competition.
"We started off a little slow, but we knew we would play better as the match went along," Gersic said. "We always work well together, and that showed in this weekend's tournament."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said she was happy with Gersic and Kovacek's performance this weekend.
"Maja and Iva just dominated the doubles final against a very good team in Alabama which is ranked No. 21 in the country," Kolankiewicz said. "Maja and Iva were very impressive."
Gersic battled her way through tough competition all weekend to take first place in the singles competition as well. Almost all her matches went to three sets before she beat the No. 36 ranked Bentley to advance to the finals. In the championship match, Gersic beat Monica Milewski of Colorado in a three-set battle 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
Despite winning the tournament, Gersic said she still has plenty of work to do.
"I'm really happy with the outcome of the tournament, but I'm not that happy with where my game is at right now," Gersic said. "I was playing better at the same time last year, and I need to work on some things to get my game back to where it was."
Gersic pulled a muscle in her stomach this weekend. She said she is going to take practice lightly in hopes of being at full strength for the next tournament.
Kolankiewicz said the tournament was a success and a great start to the fall season, which should lead to an even better spring season.
"We were pushed to the limit many times, but overall we were very pleased with the outcomes," she said. "Obviously we could have won a few more matches and done better here and there, but the experience was really valuable."
Freshmen Mackenzie White and Maria Sotirchos showed they could contribute in their first tournament as Lobos. White finished in fifth place while Sotirchos came in seventh in singles competition.
"They did really well," Kolankiewicz said. "They hung in there and played in some really long, tough matches. We were pleased with their persistence and determination."
Gersic said she has mixed feelings about this weekend's tournament.
"There are some things that need to be worked on in order to compete at a level that I'm happy with," she said. "But of course I'm really happy with the our first-place finishes and the team's performance overall."
