ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After the dropping the doubles point to start the match, the University of New Mexico women’s tennis team rallied in singles action to claim a 4-3 conference victory over Nevada on Friday evening at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.
The Lobos, 5-1 on the season, struggled against the Wolf Pack in doubles play losing matches in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Sophomore duo Meredith Hopson and Emily Olivier fell to Sheila Smiley and Juliette Legendre 6-4 to give Nevada the advantage. Sheila Morales and Blaga Delic clinched the point for the Wolf Pack with a 6-3 win over Natasha Smith and Dominique Dulski.
“We came out very flat in the doubles and it really hurt us,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “Nevada played inspired doubles and came after us–we were on our heels from the beginning. We are going to have to find a way to start better–a six game set goes by too quickly for us to work our way into a match.”
Rachana Bhat and Sharon Coone were down 4-5 in the No. 3 spot when their match was called.
UNM rebounded in singles play and claimed four of the six matches. Bhat tallied a quick 6-0, 6-1 victory over Elissa Pavelea. Smith put the Lobos ahead by posting a 6-4, 6-4 win over Morales in the No. 1 spot. Coone defeated Sara Korzeniecki 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 6 spot to put the score at 3-1.
Dulski, Hopson, and Olivier were in the midst of tight matches as the Lobos battled for a fourth point. Hopson dropped a close 6-4, 6-4 match to Smiley giving the Wolf Pack their second point.
Dulski was squaring off against Delic in the No. 4 spot as the score sat at 3-2. It was a back-and-fourth battle, but the UNM sophomore eventually pulled ahead to win 6-4, 6-4 and clinch the conference victory for the Lobos.
Olivier finished out her lengthy three-set match with Legendre in the No. 2 spot. After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, Olivier replied with a 6-2 win in the second set forcing a third set. The two opponents once again found themselves in a tiebreaker where Olivier eventually fell; final score was 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (4).
“I was impressed again by our fight in singles,” Jasper said. “Nevada competed really well and was particularly strong at certain spots–I thought we stepped up big time when our backs were against the wall.”
“Rachana Bhat did a nice job picking up a quick win and pulling some momentum back our direction,” Jasper added. “Sharon Coone had another good showing in singles–she is improving with every match. I also was pretty proud of the effort put forth by Natasha Smith and Dominique Dulski. Both struggled in the doubles, but were able to put it behind them to beat two solid opponents.”
The Lobos had a full house of fans supporting them on Friday as the match was UNM Greek Night. There were over 200 hundred fraternity members in attendance.
UNM hits the court again on Sunday morning for a match against No. 70 North Texas.
“Luckily we have a day off to regroup and work on a few things,” Jasper said. “North Texas is exceptionally tough–we’ll have another battle on our hands.”
NEW MEXICO VS NEVADA BOX SCORE
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