LAS VEGAS, Nev. — It was another thriller, and UNM again mounted a comeback from down 3-2, but it couldn’t quite complete it. Ludivine Burguiere battled from down 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3, but couldn’t get over the hump, and No. 3 San José State defeated No. 11 New Mexico 4-3 in a quarterfinal barnburner.
With the loss, New Mexico ended its season at 8-14 under first-year Lobo head coach Stephanie Wooten-Quijada. The Spartans improved to 12-7 and will face off with No. 2 Fresno State in the semifinals.
New Mexico, which was the No. 11 seed in the 11-team tournament, played much more like the team with the second-best Mountain West record (which the owned at 4-1) then the 11th-best team in the league. UNM picked up a come-from-behind doubles point, with Emily Olivier and Diana Wong winning at No. 2 doubles 6-4, and then Burguiere and Cassie Chung won in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4) to clinch a 1-0 lead.
UNM found itself in trouble in singles when the Lobos dropped four of the six opening sets. One of those two openers won was by Rachana Bhat, who made it 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-2 win. However, San José State reeled off the next three points to make it 3-2. First, Gaelle Rey defeated Cassie Chung 6-3, 6-2 and then Tamara Culibrk defeated Dominique Dulski 7-5, 6-3.
That made it 2-2 and then the remaining three matches went to a third set. Ruth Copas forced a third set, but couldn’t close it out, losing 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 to Marie Klocker at No. 2, and that made it 3-2 with Diana Wong and Burguire left on the court. Wong’s 11-match winning streak looked dead early after she was blitzed in the opening set 6-1, but as she has done throughout her streak, she got better as the match wore on. Wong took the second set 7-5 and then overwhelmed Marine Dans 6-0 in the third for a 12th straight win, making it 3-3.
That’s when the drama shifted to the last match, with Burguiere and Sybille Gauvan tied 2-2. Gauvan took a deuce point to go up 3-2, but Burguiere did likewise, making it 3-3. In probably the key swing of the match, Burguire went up 40-15, looking to take her first lead in the third set, but Gauvan reeled off three straight points to remain in front 4-3.
In the next game Burguire again had three game points, putting away the third for a 4-4 tie. After falling behind 5-4, Gauvan took a 40-30 lead, giving her double match point. She needed only the one, winning on 40-30 and taking a 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 win.
NOTES: Bhat’s win was her 92nd, and she finished tied for seventh in career wins at UNM … her 18-6 record led the team for most wins … Wong ended the season on a 12-match winning streak, and she was 7-0 against Mountain West opponents.
Lobos Drop Thriller 4-3 to San José State
