ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (March 29, 2003) -- The No. 57 BYU women's tennis team dropped its first conference match of the season on Saturday when No. 49 New Mexico edged out the Cougars 4-3. The loss drops the Cougars to a 7-9 overall record and 2-1 in the MWC.

The victory over the Cougars was only the Lobos second victory over BYU since the two teams started playing each other. With the win the Lobos improved to 11-8 on the season, 3-2 in the MWC.

"We knew that New Mexico would be ready to play us," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "It's always tough to play someone on their home courts, where they practice everyday. It was a close match, but we weren't able to come out victorious."

The Lobos took an early lead over BYU by winning the doubles point. Seniors Liza Klempner and Dominique Reynolds of BYU lost to Maja Kovacek and Sandy Lukowski 9-7 in a tough match at No. 1 doubles. Hadley MacFarlane and Tara Porter were the lone Cougar tandem to win in doubles. They beat Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Rachel Hatley 8-5 at the No. 2 spot. Rebecca Pike and Olga Boulytcheva also lost a close match to Tiffany Robertson and Michelle Heidbrink 9-8 at No. 3.

In singles, the Lobos were able to win the top two singles matches. Klempner lost to Kovacek 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot and Reynolds lost to Lukowski 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 2 position. Boulytcheva, Pike and MacFarlane all won in singles.

The Cougars will be back in action next weekend at home when San Diego State and UNLV come to town.

No. 49 New Mexico 4, BYU 3 
SINGLES 
1. Maja Kovacek def. Liza Klempner,            6-4, 6-3 
2. Sandy Lukowski def. Dominique Reynolds,     7-5, 6-4 
3. Olga Bulytcheva def. Tjasa Suvak,           6-1, 6-1 
4. Rebecca Pike def. Michelle Heidbrink,       6-3, 6-0 
5. Tiffany Robertson def. Tara Porter,         6-3, 6-2 
6. Hadley Macfarlane def. Maria Ruiz-Fabrega,  6-1, 6-1 
DOUBLES 
1. Kovacek/Lukowski def. Klempner/Reynolds,    9-7 
2. Macfarlane/Porter def. Ruiz-Fabrega/Hatley, 8-5 
3. Robertson/Heidbrink def. Pike/Bulytcheva,   9-8

PROVO -- After two big wins over nationally-ranked opponents last weekend, the No. 57 BYU women's tennis team (6-8) will be on the road in New Mexico this weekend to begin conference play as they take on Air Force on Friday and No. 49 New Mexico on Saturday. Both matches will be played in Albuquerque beginning at noon.

Last weekend, the Cougars beat No. 58 Boise State 4-3 and No. 38 South Carolina 5-2, improving their record to 6-8 on the season. Senior Liza Klempner led the Cougars at the No. 1 singles spot by winning both matches at her position. She beat No. 66 Renate Stoop in a tough three-set match, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. On Saturday, against South Carolina, she beat No. 102 Kathy Boyanovich 6-3, 6-3.

"Our first match with Boise State was a tough one," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "We didn't play our best, but we just really fought hard and came up with the victory. On Saturday against South Carolina, everyone on the team really played well. It seemed like everything just came together for us."

Air Force is currently the last place team in the MWC with a 7-5 overall record and a 0-2 record in conference play. Both conference losses came last week as they fell to No. 32 San Diego State 7-0 and to No. 24 UNLV 6-1.

"Air Force is going to be tougher than usual," said Manning. "They have lost two matches, but those losses came against the two top teams in the conference. They'll be ready to play, so we'll need to be ready for them."

The 49th-ranked Lobos of New Mexico come into this weekend's match with an even 8-8 overall record and is currently tied with Air Force for last place in the conference with an 0-2 record. The Lobos lost to No. 32 SDSU 5-2 and to No. 24 UNLV 4-3. The Lobos will look to No. 82 Sandy Lukowski to lead them to victory over the Cougars.

"New Mexico is always tough," said Manning. "We're going to have to play really well, especially playing down there on their home courts."

After this weekend's action in New Mexico, BYU will be back at home next weekend as they continue conference play against SDSU on Friday and UNLV on Saturday. Both matches will begin at noon.