LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 57 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team will make its first NCAA appearance since 2006 this weekend when the Lobos take on No. 22 LSU in the first round of the 2015 Women’s Tennis NCAA Championships. The Lobos and the Tigers are set to face off on Friday at 2 p.m. CT at the McLeod Tennis Center at Texas Tech University.
“The team is so excited to be headed to the NCAA Championships this week,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “It has been a tough week and a half after winning the conference title for the team with finals looming and projects and papers to be completed, but I was really proud of our effort and attitudes when we were out on the court training despite all the distractions.”
No. 57 New Mexico
The No. 57 Lobos earned an automatic bid into this year’s tournament after winning the Mountain West Championship title late last month. UNM enters the tournament with a 16-9, 7-2 MW record. Much of the Lobos’ success this season is credited to their strong singles play. All-conference honorees Natasha Smith and Emily Olivier have led the Lobos in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, but the talent runs deep into the lineup. Dominique Dulski (16-7) and Rachana Bhat (15-8) currently hold the most dual match wins on the team.
Notes: This is the Lobos’ first NCAA appearance since 2006… The Lobos have not made in past the first round of the tournament since 1998… This will be UNM’s 9th appearance overall.
No. 22 LSU
LSU is coming into the tournament ranked No. 22 nationally with a 19-10 overall record. The Tigers, who went 7-6 in the conference play, lost in the semifinals of the SEC Championships 4-0 to sixth-ranked Georgia. LSU also carries a solid singles lineup, which includes two nationally ranked players in Joana Vale Costa (No. 29) and Skylar Kuykendall (No. 68). Vale Costa and teammate Noel Scott come in at No. 33 in the ITA doubles rankings.
The NCAA first round match up between the Lobos and the Tigers will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2009, where UNM fell 4-3 in the season opener. Despite the relative distance of the two schools, the squads have faced off six times, with LSU holding a 5-1 advantage. UNM’s only win over LSU was a 5-4 victory in 1989.
Head Coach Erica Jasper on the Weekend
“We have a team that is at it’s best when we are having fun together and fighting as a team, so we’ll work to get in that mode for practice in Lubbock and carry that to our match with LSU. LSU is a very tough team and well-coached. They had a really solid year in a tougher than ever SEC, so we know they’ll be ready to battle from the first point. It’s a real honor to coach this team this season. We’ve had a lot of times where we could’ve given up or succumb to tough circumstances, but we haven’t. I am so proud of them and it will be a special moment to walk out on the court as their coach for our first NCAA tournament match since 2006.”
NCAA First Round
The winner of the New Mexico/LSU match will face the winner of the Texas Tech/New Mexico State match in the second round on Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. CT.
Specific match times are as follows:
1st Rounds
Friday, May 8 2:00 pm CT LSU vs. UNM
Friday, May 8 5:00 pm CT Texas Tech vs. NMSU
2nd Round
Saturday, May 9 3:00 pm CT Winner match 1 vs. Winner match 2
NCAA Women’s Tennis Digital Guide
Twitter: @UNMWomensTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/UNM.Women.Tennis | Instagram: newmexicowtennis
Ticket Information: Tickets for the first and second round of the NCAA Championships slated for Lubbock are $5 for adults, $3 for students and youth two and over will require a ticket. For more information on tickets, visit www.texastech.com.