Murgett and Copas Complete UNM's Comeback at CSU
FT. COLLINS, Colo. — And a senior shall lead them.
On this day, in search of a road win, and a conference victory, it was UNM’s lone senior (and only upperclassman) Ruth Copas that battled for nearly three hours against Colorado State’s top player, winning an epic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 showdown, giving the Lobos a thrilling, if not slightly harrowing, 4-3 win in Ft. Collins.
The win pushed the Lobos back to .500 at 8-8 overall, and evened their conference record at 1-1. CSU remained winless in league play at 0-3, and the team is now 7-8 overall.
The Lobos had to come back from down 2-0 and 3-2 in order to get the win. Lobo assistant Vicky Maes used a different doubles lineup for the match, changing the top two pairings, moving Ruth Copas to No. 2 doubles with Hsiang-Wen “Albie” Huang and moving Yue Lin “Polly” Chen up to No. 1 with Danielle Quevedo. While both pairings played well, neither could get the doubles point clinching win after Bronte Murgett and Natasha Munday earned a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles.
Copas and Huang lost 6-4 to make it one apiece in doubles, and Chen and Quevedo lost 7-5, putting UNM behind the eight ball. It looked a little blearker after Munday lost at No. 4 singles 6-0, 6-3 to make it 2-0 CSU, but the Lobos tied it with wins at No. 5 and No. 6. It was Chen at No. 6 that got UNM on the board with her 19th win of the year, this a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Quevedo followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win to make it 2-2, but the Rams again went in front with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 by Nancy Ghanem over Huang.
That meant Copas and No. 1 and Murgett and No. 2 needed to win their three-setters. Murgett, who dropped her opening set, came back to make it 3-3 with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Stella Cliffe. That left the entire match up to UNM’s lone senior, looking to spoil CSU’s senior day, and that she did.
After winning the opening set 6-4, she dropped the second set 6-4. The third went back and forth, but up 6-5 and at match point, she forced opponent Emily Luetschwager to hit into the net, Copas collasping in joy and getting mobbed by her teammates.
UNM has now won five or the last six and returns home for its final three home matches, starting on Friday at noon against Utah State.
NOTES: Chen’s 19th win leads the team … Munday and Murgett are now 12-1 as a doubles team, 11-1 in the spring.