Junior Veronica Popovici is fifth in singles in the first Mountain Regional rankings. Popovici went 7-3 during the fall, which included a five-match winning streak, to reach the semifinals of the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament.
The Cowgirls tennis team will compete in Ft. Collins this weekend, marking the end of its conference season.
The team will play against the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday, and the UNLV Lady Rebels on Saturday.
The team has had an exciting 2012-13 season coming a long way from the team they started out back in September. Under the coaching and supervision of recently promoted head coach Dean Clower, the Cowgirls achieved a record of 9-10 overall and 3-3 in Mountain West play this spring.
Clower became the fifth head women’s tennis coach in Cowgirl history. After taking over the program, he has led them to a 14-9 overall mark and a record of 5-2 in Mountain West play during the fall season. They finished tied for second, which is the highest finish ever for a Wyoming team.
As a team, the Cowgirls were ranked in the Campbell’s/ITA national rankings every week since they started coming out last January. The team was ranked 56th on March 27, an all time high in school history. Along with that, they defeated three nationally ranked teams and finished the year ranked 61st. The doubles team of Veronica Popovici and Simona Synkova also won the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament in the fall, while earning a spot of 47th in the rankings.
The UW duo of Veronica Popovici and Simona Synkova has been recognized this season in both doubles and singles. This spring, their doubles team was reported by the Mountain West as ranked 52nd nationally and second in the Mountain Region. The two Cowgirls earned a preseason fall ranking of 21st.
In singles, Popovici is fifth in the first Mountain Regional rankings, while Synkova is ninth. Coming to Wyoming from Romania, junior Popovici went 7-3 during the fall, which included a five-match winning streak. She reached the semifinals of the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament. Synkova, a senior from Slovakia, recorded a 7-2 overall mark during the fall while winning the BYU Invitational. Both players also participated at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in both singles and doubles.
The Cowgirls come into this weekend’s meet having split matches in last weekend’s event. They lost on Friday against the Boise State Broncos (4-3), but won their Saturday encounter against the New Mexico Lobos with a 7-0 victory, and they will look to carry the momentum from the shutout south of the border.
