ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico women’s tennis team closed out the weekend with a 4-0 victory over No. 70 North Texas on Sunday afternoon at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.
The unranked Lobos had a dominating weekend on the courts as they tallied three straight victories including two over ranked opponents and one conference win. UNM is now 6-1, 1-0 on the season.
“I am so proud of our team–the girls fought so hard today,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “There wasn’t one easy match in doubles or singles and no one backed down.”
The Lobos were able to claim the doubles point to gain an early lead, but it did not come without a fight. Dominique Dulski and Natasha Smith handily beat Ksenyia Bardabush and Franziska Sprinkmeyer 6-2 in the No. 1 spot to give UNM an edge, but the remaining two matches were far from over.
Sharon Coone and Rachana Bhat faced off against UNT’s Agustina Valenzuela and Ana Sofia Cordero in the No. 3 position. The UNM duo rallied after being down 0-3 to start the match and eventually put the match at 6-6. The Lobos fell in the tiebreaker 7-6 (6), allowing the Mean Green to even up the boards.
UNM’s Meredith Hopson and Emily Olivier found themselves in a similar situation before they clinched the doubles point. The Lobos took an early 3-0 lead over UNT, but Alexis Thoma and Anastasia Shestakova fought their way back into the match. The two opponents duked it out in a tiebreaker where Hopson and Olivier eventually won, 7-6 (6).
“Emily (Olivier) and Meredith (Hopson) have had more close doubles matches than anyone, and once again today they just kept fighting and clinched the point for us,” Jasper added.
Singles action was just as tight as doubles play, but the Lobos powered through to tally three singles victories.
Smith, UNM’s only senior, led the pack with her close 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Bardabush in the No. 1 spot. Dulski followed with a win over Thoma in the No.4 spot; 7-6 (1), 6-2.
After dropping her first set, Hopson rallied in the No. 3 position to eventually post a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Valenzuela and clinch the victory for the Lobos.
Smith, Dulski, and Hopson each hold a 5-2 singles record on the season so far.
Bhat, Coone, and Olivier were each in the third set of their matches when they were declared unfinished.
“In singles, all six matches could have gone either way,” Jasper said about the close match ups. “North Texas was tough and feisty, but we did an amazing job of focusing on our side of the court and getting the three points we needed.”
UNM’s next match is on Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. MT against UTEP at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.
“We’ve got a lot of tough matches ahead of us still, so we’ll have to take very good care of our bodies and regroup mentally for next weekend,” Jasper said.