LAS VEGAS, Nev. – After more wet weather at the UNLV Invite which caused rain delays throughout the match, the No. 57 Lobos eventually completed competition against the No. 44 Oklahoma Sooners this afternoon at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas, Nev. OU beat the Lobos (5-3), 6-1, earning the doubles point and clinching wins at five of six singles spots. Tiffany Robertson captured the lone Lobo point after she beat Bethany Griffin at the No. 5 spot.
New Mexico began competition with a doubles match at the No. 1 spot that featured Sooners Anda Perianu and Heather Saluri and UNM’s pair of Maja Kovacek and Tjasa Suvak. The OU duo beat the Lobo pair 8-5. At the No. 2 spot the Lobos were unable to get past Annette Bryntesson and Bethany Griffin who beat Sandy Lukowski and Tiffany Robertson 8-4. The Lobo tandem of Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Rachel Hatley, who are ranked No. 9 in the central region doubles ranks, beat Elena Jirnova and Jessica Braver in a close 9-7 match at the No. 3 position.
For the first time this year the Lobos had only one win in singles competition. Tiffany Robertson played a tough three-set match against Bethany Griffin which saw her fall 6-1 in the first set but come back to down Griffin 6-2 and 6-1 in the final two to earn the win.
At the No. 1 spot Tjasa Suvak dropped two sets to OU’s Anda Perianu, who is ranked one spot above Suvak in the I.T.A. rankings at No. 74. The first set was close at 7-5 in Perianu’s favor, but the Sooner player blanked Suvak 6-0 in the second set. Maja Kovacek battled to three sets with Oklahoma’s No. 2 player, Elena Jirnova, but lost the final tie-breaking set to lose 7-6, 4-6, 10-6.
Sandy Lukowski returned to competition today for the first time since the fall season. She faced Annette Bryntesson and was beaten 6-2, 6-4. Michelle Heidbrink met a similar fate at the No. 4 position. She dropped her first set, 6-2, and fought hard in the second, losing by only a point, 7-6, to give Bryntesson the win. The final loss for the Lobos came at the No. 6 spot. Rachel Hatley matched up with OU’s Melissa Menieta, played to a close 7-5 in the first set but then lost the second 6-4.
The Lobos will play CSU-Northridge tomorrow at 12 p.m. in the third-place match. UNLV and Oklahoma both advanced to the championship match which will also be played at 12 p.m.
A