Wednesday, April 23
Las Vegas, Nev.
11:00 AM MT
Air Force Academy
vs
New Mexico
Women’s Tennis Draws No. 10 New Mexico in Opening Round of MW Championships
4/22/2025 1:22:00 PM | Women's Tennis
In a rematch of one of the toughest matches from the Falcons' 2025 dual season, seven-seed Air Force Women's Tennis opens postseason play taking on No. 10 New Mexico in the opening round of the 2025 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship, set for Apr. 23-26 at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.
The Falcons' tournament opener on Wednesday is set for 11 a.m. MT. In the Falcons' 7-10 matchup, Air Force faces the Lobos in search of a Thursday quarterfinal bid to take on two-seed Nevada.
At 10-13 and 4-6 in Mountain West play, the Falcons closed their regular season with wins in two of their final three matches, defeating both Colorado State (4-2) and Wyoming (4-1). Air Force currently combines for 35-20 (.636) in doubles play and 54-55 (.495) in singles; Doubles pair Alexis Odom/Maya Michalski enter postseason play at 11-5 with five-straight wins. In singles, junior Arianna Van Houweling, at 12-5, leads Air Force in wins and seeks a third consecutive win on Wednesday against UNM.
Last Time Against the Lobos:
In a gritty, drawn-out affair at New Mexico on Apr. 4, the Falcons clawed their way to a 4-3 win over the Lobos in Albuquerque.
The Falcons' four-hour match with UNM ultimately fell to line six, where freshman Shivaani Selvan was taking on senior Lobo Sofia Taborga. Selvan and Taborga played out to a tiebreak in the opening set in which Taborga narrowly won, 8-6. Selvan took a 4-1 lead in the second set but was unable to put away Taborga as the UNM senior rallied back in the set to force another tiebreak at 6-all. This time it was Selvan who came out on top, as the two played to a 5-all tie before Selvan took the final two games to force a third set.
In the deciding set, Selvan took a two-game lead to start, but Taborga answered to tie again. Both Selvan and Taborga traded leads to 4-all, where Selvan again mustered the strength to close out her opponent, securing the Air Force clinch.
The Falcons captured a doubles win, clinching the point on lines two and three to open the match with a 1-0 lead over New Mexico; Freshman duo Shivaani Selvan/Sofia Mavor powered to a 6-3 win over Maria Sodre and Sarah O'Connor to give Air Force a one-court advantage. Alexis Odom and Maya Michalski, facing Lobo pair Maria Matsoukatidi/Sofia Taborga, held as much as a 5-1 lead in their set before clinching the doubles point on a 6-2 win.
New Mexico was able to even the score in short order, with Sodre taking a 6-3, 6-3 win over freshman Falcon Maya Michalski on court four, but the Falcons regained the advantage as junior Arianna Van Houweling downed Matsoukatidi, 6-4, 6-1, earning her fourth-straight victory while improving to 10-4 on the season.
Air Force fell into a deadlock with the Lobos, as Odom went down on the top flight in a three-set battle with Made Vandeputte, followed by a 7-5, 4-3 win on line five for Sofia Mavor. Selvan's court six win broke the stalemate, resulting in a 4-3 Air Force win.
A win over New Mexico on Wednesday in Las Vegas would mark head coach Taylor Hollander's first career postseason victory.
The Falcons' tournament opener on Wednesday is set for 11 a.m. MT. In the Falcons' 7-10 matchup, Air Force faces the Lobos in search of a Thursday quarterfinal bid to take on two-seed Nevada.
At 10-13 and 4-6 in Mountain West play, the Falcons closed their regular season with wins in two of their final three matches, defeating both Colorado State (4-2) and Wyoming (4-1). Air Force currently combines for 35-20 (.636) in doubles play and 54-55 (.495) in singles; Doubles pair Alexis Odom/Maya Michalski enter postseason play at 11-5 with five-straight wins. In singles, junior Arianna Van Houweling, at 12-5, leads Air Force in wins and seeks a third consecutive win on Wednesday against UNM.
Last Time Against the Lobos:
In a gritty, drawn-out affair at New Mexico on Apr. 4, the Falcons clawed their way to a 4-3 win over the Lobos in Albuquerque.
The Falcons' four-hour match with UNM ultimately fell to line six, where freshman Shivaani Selvan was taking on senior Lobo Sofia Taborga. Selvan and Taborga played out to a tiebreak in the opening set in which Taborga narrowly won, 8-6. Selvan took a 4-1 lead in the second set but was unable to put away Taborga as the UNM senior rallied back in the set to force another tiebreak at 6-all. This time it was Selvan who came out on top, as the two played to a 5-all tie before Selvan took the final two games to force a third set.
In the deciding set, Selvan took a two-game lead to start, but Taborga answered to tie again. Both Selvan and Taborga traded leads to 4-all, where Selvan again mustered the strength to close out her opponent, securing the Air Force clinch.
The Falcons captured a doubles win, clinching the point on lines two and three to open the match with a 1-0 lead over New Mexico; Freshman duo Shivaani Selvan/Sofia Mavor powered to a 6-3 win over Maria Sodre and Sarah O'Connor to give Air Force a one-court advantage. Alexis Odom and Maya Michalski, facing Lobo pair Maria Matsoukatidi/Sofia Taborga, held as much as a 5-1 lead in their set before clinching the doubles point on a 6-2 win.
New Mexico was able to even the score in short order, with Sodre taking a 6-3, 6-3 win over freshman Falcon Maya Michalski on court four, but the Falcons regained the advantage as junior Arianna Van Houweling downed Matsoukatidi, 6-4, 6-1, earning her fourth-straight victory while improving to 10-4 on the season.
Air Force fell into a deadlock with the Lobos, as Odom went down on the top flight in a three-set battle with Made Vandeputte, followed by a 7-5, 4-3 win on line five for Sofia Mavor. Selvan's court six win broke the stalemate, resulting in a 4-3 Air Force win.
A win over New Mexico on Wednesday in Las Vegas would mark head coach Taylor Hollander's first career postseason victory.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Taylor Hollander Interview - April 29th, 2025
Tuesday, April 29
Women's Tennis Senior Day
Monday, April 28
Women's Tennis Senior Day
Monday, April 28
Taylor Hollander MW Conference Interview - April 24th, 2025
Thursday, April 24
