ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 61 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team captured the program’s first-ever conference title on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Wyoming Cowgirls 4-2 in a tight Mountain West championship match at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.
“It’s hard to even put into words the amount of emotion we are all feeling right now, but I am so proud of our team,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “It’s been a wild season to say the least and in some ways today’s match was a fitting representation. Every player on this team has been faced with a number of challenges both on and off the court, but we continued to stick together and put the work in. No one ever made excuses, we just kept working harder. As a coach I feel so blessed to have a team like ours and a great support staff all pitching in.”
The second-seeded Lobos (16-9, 7-2 MW) made history with their victory over the fifth-seeded Cowgirls, but it did not come without a fight. Wyoming, who was also competing for its first conference title, battled until the end against Jasper’s tough Lobo lineup.
UNM secured the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Natasha Smith and Dominique Dulski gave the Lobos a boost with their 6-4 win over Espinosa and Christa Gecheva. Emily Olivier and Sharon clinched it for UNM with their 7-5 victory over Jessica Parizher and Magdalena Stencel in the No. 2 spot. Smith/Dulski and Olivier/Coone both finish the conference tournament with a 2-1 doubles record.
Susie Baklini and Rachana Bhat were tied at 5-all with Dorottya Jonas and Silviya Zhelyzkova in the No. 3 spot when the point was claimed.
The Lobos’ doubles success allowed them to enter singles play with some necessary confidence, but Wyoming came out just as strong. Every singles match was tightly-contested throughout and there was no predicting who would come out on top.
Bhat came through with a two-set win over Gecheva 6-4, 6-3 to give UNM a 2-0 lead. Bhat currently holds the most second most dual match wins on the team with a 15-8 singles record. The Cowgirls got on board with a win in the No. 3 singles spot as Jonas defeated Meredith Hopson, 6-4, 6-3. Olivier, who was holding down the No. 1 spot for the Lobos, responded with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Stencel to extend UNM’s lead to 3-1.
The Lobos only needed one more match to claim the title, but the remaining three matches were neck-and-neck. It looked as if Dulski was going to clinch the Lobos’ victory in the No. 4 spot, but Wyoming’s Parizher rallied to eventually take the match from Dulski, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
Smith and Coone were the only Lobos left on the court as UNM searched for a fourth singles win. Coone was just beginning a third set against Silviya Zhelyazkova in the No. 6 spot, forcing all eyes to focus on Smith’s three-set match against Nastya Tokareva in the No. 2 position. It was a back-and-fourth battle that came down to a tiebreaker in the third set, but Smith eventually pulled through to defeat Tokareva 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5), clinching the championship title for the Lobos.
It was a fairytale ending to the MW tournament as UNM’s lone senior and team captain claimed the title on the Lobos’ home turf.
“It’s poetic for ’Tasha to get the clincher for us. She has been asked to do so much for our program,” said Jasper. “This is just huge for our program. I had such respect for the program under Kathy Kolankiewicz from when I was a player, so to coach this team and win the conference and get to the tournament is really a dream come true.”
UNM earned a spot in the championship showdown against Wyoming after tallying a quarterfinals victory against Nevada, 4-1, and a semifinals win over San Jose State, 4-3.
The Lobos’ conference title gives them an automatic spot in the NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place on Tuesday, April 28. It will be UNM’s first NCAA appearance since 2006.
NOTES: New Mexico had lost in last year’s championship match to Fresno State … Perkins Jasper is now 5-2 as a coach in the MW Tournament … Wyoming finishes the season 15-6.
Twitter: @UNMWomensTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/UNM.Women.Tennis | Instagram: newmexicowtennis
COMPLETE RESULTS:
Doubles:
1) Smith/Dulski (UNM) def. Espinosa/Gecheva (WYO), 6-4
2) Coone/Olivier (UNM) def. Parizher/Stencel (WYO), 7-5
3) Bhat/Baklini (UNM) & Jonas/Zhelyazkova (WYO), 5-5 unfinished
Order of Finish: (1,2 )
Singles:
1) Olivier (UNM) def. Stencel (WYO), 6-3, 7-6 (6)
2) Smith (UNM) def. Tokareva (WYO), 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5)
3) Jonas (WYO) def. Hopson (UNM), 6-4, 6-3
4) Parizher (WYO) def. Dulski (UNM), 6-3, 0-6, 7-5
5) Bhat (UNM) def. Gecheva (WYO), 6-4, 6-3
6) Coone (UNM) & Zhelyazkova (WYO), 4-6, 6-4, 3-1
Order of Finish: (5,3, 1, 4, 2)