Air Force Academy

April 25, 2001

The Air Force men's and women's tennis teams begin the 2001 Mountain West Conference Championships on Thursday, April 26. The men's tournament is in Salt Lake City, Utah, while the women will compete in Fort Collins, Colo.

AIR FORCE MEN
The men's team enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 seed UNLV on Thursday, April 26, at 10 a.m. The Falcons, ranked No. 75 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national poll, defeated the Rebels, 4-2, in Colorado Springs on April 7.

Air Force finished the 2000-01 regular season with a 16-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the MWC. The Falcons tied with Utah for fifth-place in the MWC, but the Utes defeated AFA, 5-2, to earn the fifth-seed. Air Force's only conference victory was a 4-2 decision over then 36th-ranked UNLV.

Sophomore Eric Pittman was the only Falcon to record 20 singles victories during the regular season. He posted a 21-13 overall record, and was 15-11 in dual matches at the No. 1 position. In the Falcons' win over UNLV, Pittman defeated Nenad Zivkovic, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, to clinch the team victory. Zivkovic was ranked 56th in the country at the time.

Head Coach:
Falcon coach Rich Gugat is in his 27th season with the Falcons, sporting a career record of 626-171. He is currently fourth among active coaches on the NCAA career wins list, and third among active coaches with a .785 winning percentage.

About UNLV:
UNLV, currently ranked 49th in the nation, finished its season with an overall record of 11-9 and was 2-3 in conference play, good for a third-place tie with BYU. The Rebels earned the third-seed by virtue of a 4-3 victory over the Cougars. UNLV is 2-1 in the overall series with the Falcons.

AIR FORCE WOMEN
The Falcon women battle San Diego State in the first round of their tournament on Thursday, April 26, at 2 p.m. AFA lost to the Aztecs, 7-0, in the team's regular season finale on April 14.

Air Force finished the 2000-01 regular season with a 12-14 overall record and 1-6 mark in the MWC. The Falcons defeated Wyoming, 6-1, on March 31 for their only conference victory of the season.

Junior Brooke Parsons is one victory away from winning 20 singles matches for the third consecutive year. She sits at 19-18 entering the MWC Tournament. Freshman Laura Nigro posted an outstanding 21-15 overall singles record, and was 15-10 in dual matches. She played most of the season at the No. 3 position. Nigro also collected the best doubles record on the team this season at 17-14.

Head Coach:
Falcon coach Kim Gidley is in her third season with the Falcons and has a career record of 46-33. Gidley came to the Academy from the University of Idaho, where she was an assistant coach. She is the first civilian head coach in the 23-year history of the program.

About SDSU:
San Diego State, ranked 46th in the country, finished its season with an overall record of 14-7 and was 6-1 in conference play, losing only to league champ BYU. The Aztecs did not lose a set in their match against Air Force on April 14, defeating the Falcons 7-0. SDSU has won both matches in the overall series with the Falcons.