DALLAS, Texas – The No. 74 SMU Mustangs (10-3) claimed the doubles points and three singles wins to upset the No. 41 Lobos on Friday afternoon at the SMU Tennis Complex. UNM is now 10-6 on the season and 2-5 on the road.
“Tough match today,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “Despite a lot of trying, frankly it wasn’t a total team effort from top to bottom. And that killed us. SMU was way too tough for us to find a way to win without every position competing and fighting hard. All of us are taking the loss hard because we didn’t take control of the controllables.”
UNM dropped the doubles point to start the match losing matches in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. SMU’s Hristina Dishkova and Holly Verner defeated Dominique Dulski and Meredith Hopson 6-2 in the No. 2 position while Yana Erkeeva and Mary Wright clinched the point for the Mustangs with their 6-3 win over Sharon Coone and Dalina Dahlmans.
Emily Olivier and Natasha Smith led 5-4 over Vaszilisza Bulgakova and Dasha Sharapova in the No. 1 spot when the match was called.
The Mustangs also came out feisty in singles action. Sophomore Rachana Bhat was the first off the court as she dropped a 6-3, 6-0 match to Bulgakova. Olivier also fell 6-3, 6-0 as she battled Dishkova in the No. 1 spot. Sharapova clinched the victory for SMU with her 6-2, 6-3 win over Hopson.
Dulski, Coone, and Smith were each battling through tight matches when the victory was claimed.
The Lobos do not have much time to rest as they are back on the court tomorrow for their final non-conference match up against Tulane at 2 p.m. CT.
“I’m glad we have another chance tomorrow to prove what we are capable of,” Jasper said.
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COMPLETE RESULTS:
Doubles:
1) Emily Olivier/Natasha Smith (UNM) & Vaszilisza Bulgakova/Dasha Sharapova (SMU) — unfinished
2) Hristina Dishkova/Holly Verner (SMU) def. Meredith Hopson/Dominique Dulski (UNM), 6-2
3) Yana Erkeeva/Mary Wright (SMU) def. Sharon Coone/Dalina Dahlmans (UNM), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles:
1) Hristina Dishkova (SMU) def. Emily Olivier (UNM), 6-3, 6-0
2) Natasha Smith (UNM) vs. Anna Kate Anderson (SMU), 4-6, 3-2, DNF
3) Dasha Sharapova (SMU) def. Meredith Hopson (UNM), 6-3, 6-2
4) Dominique Dulski (UNM) vs. Yana Erkeeva (SMU), 4-6, 2-1, DNF
5) Vaszilisza Bulgakova (SMU) def. Rachana Bhat (UNM), 6-3, 6-0
6) Sharon Coone (UNM) vs. Holly Verner (SMU), 6-3, 2-3, DNF
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3