Top-Seeded Cowgirls Open Postseason Play Thursday

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The regular-season champion and top-seeded Wyoming Cowgirl tennis team begins its postseason run Thursday at the Mountain West Tournament at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.

The Cowgirls, who closed the season winning 10-of-11 matches overall, will face the winner of the No. 8 and 9 contest between San Jose State and New Mexico. First serve is set for 11 a.m., Mountain Time in the quarterfinals.

Wyoming, who finished 2023 with a 9-1 mark in Mountain West play, secured the first conference title in program history last weekend.

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UW clinched the league crown thanks to a pair of wins last week in Fort Collins against Air Force and New Mexico. The Cowgirls came back to survive a 4-2 battle with Air Force Friday before blanking New Mexico in convincing fashion Saturday, 4-0. Sophie Zehender clinched both victories last weekend for Wyoming at the No. 1 singles spot. Zehender tallied a pair of three-set wins as she defeated AFA's Sydney Fitch, 7-5, 1-6 and 6-2 before rallying to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 against UNM's Sarah O'Connor.

Zehender and Violetta Borodina swept the league's player of the week honors for their efforts last week for the Cowgirls.

Borodina, who was named the Freshman of the Week for the third time this season, won the award for the second consecutive week. Zehender, meanwhile, took home her first Player of the Week nod this season and third of her career.

Borodina enters this week's tournament with an 8-1 mark in conference play and is a team-best 15-6 in dual action. Noesjka Brink is second on the team with 11 spring victories and six MW wins while Maria Oreshkina and Zehender have five Mountain West victories each.

The ninth-seeded Spartans enter the tournament went 4-6 this season in league play and was 2-3 in neutral-site matches. The Cowgirls defeated SJSU earlier this season, 4-2 in Fort Collins in the beginning of April. New Mexico is 3-7 in the league in 2023 and has a 4-3 mark in neutral contests.

Wyoming picked up the sweep over the Lobos in the regular-season finale.

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