FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The No. 54 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team dropped a tight 4-3 Mountain West Conference match to the Colorado State Rams on Sunday afternoon at the University Tennis Complex.
“We’ve been living on borrowed time a bit with six bodies and it basically caught up to us,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “That’s on me as a coach. Today when we needed people to step up and contribute, they did not want to put the work in and when that happens, it’s hard to win.”
This is the Lobos’ second straight 4-3 conference loss. UNM is now 12-9 on the season and 3-2 in conference play.
The Lobos, who have been struggling in doubles play in their last few matches, tried some new doubles combos for their match against the Rams. However the lineup change didn’t give the Lobos the boost they needed and they dropped the doubles point to start the match.
Freshman Sharon Coone and sophomore Dominique Dulski played in the No. 1 spot for the Lobos, where they fell to Adriana Wojakowska and Natalie Heffron, 6-3. UNM’s Meredith Hopson and Dalina Dahlmans topped Madison Porter and Maddie Buxton 6-4 in the No. 2 doubles position. However Emily Olivier and Susan Baklini came up short against Mollie Cooper and Celine Voss in a tight 7-3 match in the No. 3 spot.
Singles play was also close, but unfortunately the Rams pulled ahead to claim three of the six matches. CSU took a 2-0 lead after senior Natasha Smith had to retire from her match against Wojakowska due to a lingering injury.
Olivier, Dulski, and Coone came through with three straight wins to put the score at 3-2 UNM. Olivier defeated Heffron 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot; Dulski defeated Buxton 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 4 spot; Coone defeated former Lobo Porter 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 5 spot.
Hopson followed with a close 6-2, 7-6 loss to Laia Hernandez Soler in the No. 3 spot to put the score at 3-3. The match came down to Dahlman’s match in the No. 6 spot against Voss, where the Lobo freshman fell 7-6, 6-1 allowing the Rams to clinch the match.
“The focus this next week will be to get Natasha (Smith) as close to healthy as possible as it is clear that we cannot compete without her,” Jasper said.
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COMPLETE RESULTS:
DOUBLES
Heffron/Wojakowska (CSU) def. Coone/Dulski (UNM) 6-3
Dahlmans/Hopson (UNM) def. Buxton/Porter (CSU) 6-4
Cooper/Voss (CSU) def. Olivier/Baklini (UNM) 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
SINGLES
Emily Olivier (UNM) def. Natalie Heffron (CSU) 6-1, 6-4
Adriana Wojakowska (CSU) def. Natasha Smith (UNM) 6-1, retire
Laia Hernandez Soler (CSU) def. Meredith Hopson (UNM) 6-2, 7-6
Dominique Dolski (UNM) def. Maddie Buxton (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
Sharon Coone (UNM) def. Madison Porter (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
Celine Voss (CSU) def. Dalina Dahlmans (CSU) 7-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 5, 3, 6