ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s and women’s tennis teams both stay in Albuquerque this weekend for three combined matches.
First up, the women’s tennis team faces Northern Arizona (4-5) on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Estes Tennis Center inside the indoor bubbles.
Next on the docket is men’s tennis as the Lobos take on Wichita State (6-6) on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., followed by a women’s tennis match versus the UTEP Miners (3-8) Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
The women are looking to snap their five-game losing streak (3-7) as the men look to extend their win streak to two (2-5).
Women Back at Home:
The women’s tennis team racked up three wins at home prior to the last five games on the road. In each of their three wins, the Lobos created early momentum winning the doubles point, before going on to win 4-1 against UTSA, 5-0 against Cameron and 6-1 against Abilene Christian.
Northern Arizona Stays on the Road:
For Northern Arizona, this will serve as the third game in-a-row on the road. The Lumberjacks are currently 1-3 on the road with their latest loss coming against Mountain West school Wyoming by a score of 4-1.
Nonetheless, Chiara Tomasetti is someone to keep an eye out for as she is ranked No. 116 nationally and posted her seventh consecutive straight-set victory and ran her record to 8-0 in dual matches through the spring in her last match versus the Cowgirls.
Keeping Up with UTEP:
The Miners are currently on a three-game losing streak with their last loss coming against the Colorado State Rams. UTEP secured the doubles point while also getting a win in singles from freshman Kirsten Prelle, but it wasn’t enough in a 5-2 setback at CSU.
A player to watch, Prelle was named the Steve Hoy UTEP Athlete of the Week on Monday. Prelle forged a perfect 3-0 mark in singles play to help lead the squad to a 2-1 record over a solid weekend of competition. She also was 1-1 in doubles action while playing alongside Kathleen Percegona.
New Mexico Homestand:
The men’s tennis team will play the second match of their six-match homestand versus the Wichita State Shockers. The Lobos snapped their five-game losing streak in dramatic fashion with a nail-biting, come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Pacific Tigers in their last game at home.
The match came down to the last court, where freshman Casey Recci was able to serve the match out, giving UNM a fun, harrowing and heart-stopping 4-3 win. The win was UNM’s first home match of the season, and it pushed UNM to 2-5 overall.
UNM was then set to travel to Stockton, California for the Mountain-Pacific Challenge, which was cancelled due to inclement weather and the matches will not be made up.
Watching Wichita:
The Shockers’ last time out was against No. 43 Drake and resulted in a 4-2 win over the Bulldogs. Wichita State’s Haru Inoue earned a notable win going head-to-head with No. 64-ranked Tom Hands. One of five three-set matches, Inoue – who is 6-3 in dual play this season – grabbed an early break in the third set and cruised to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win to give WSU the victory over the ranked Bulldogs.
The matches in the indoor bubbles are free through the weekend. To get to the bubbles, fans should park in the Stadium West lot and walk through the tennis center to get to the bubbles. Fans can follow along with live scoring by clicking HERE.