Women's Tennis Hosts NMSU on Senior Day
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s been a long road for lone Lobo senior Ruth Copas. In her four years, she has gone through the following:
*Four head coaches, one of which signed her but she never played for.
*Sixteen different teammates.
*A senior season in which she wasn’t just the only senior, she’s the only upperclassman on a team with no juniors.
*She missed a chuck of her junior season playing for Team Ireland in the Fed Cup.
Through all of that, Copas has been the top dog, playing No. 1 singles for the last two seasons, and she has her team to a 14-5 Mountain West record over her time, and even better, a 24-6 record at home. On Friday, Copas has the unique chance to form a perfect bookend to her career. Copas earned a win as a freshman, helping UNM win senior day on the way to a perfect 8-0 record at home. Friday morning, she will look to do the same, but this time in her home finale, and again for an 8-0 record.
Copas will be the lone senior honored on Friday morning at 11 a.m. at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium, as the Lobos will take on rival New Mexico State. The Lobos own a 36-6 all-time record against New Mexico State, and while the history is fine and dandy, the team wants a win not just for Copas, but to keep the train rolling towards the conference tournament.
New Mexico is sitting at 10-8 overall, but at one time, UNM was just 3-7. Since a 4-1 loss to No. 22 Texas Tech, the Lobos have reeled off seven wins in their last eight matches, including four of those coming at home. Overall, UNM is a perfect 7-0 at home and is looking for the first perfect home season since 2016 … Copas’ freshman year when UNM went 8-0.
Copas has played at No. 1 singles in every spring dual match, and while her record isn’t where she wants it to be, she is still 13-15 overall despite playing every teams’ best player. The key is Copas has come up big whenever it has been needed. That was never more evident than in UNM’s 4-3 win over Colorado State in which she fought back from down a set to win 7-5 in the third set to clinch an exhausting win on the road, one that showed all of her teammates that when the chips are down, Copas will lead the way.
NOTES: The match Friday is the front end of a split doubleheader, with the men’s team playing at 4 p.m. against UNLV … the match was moved back an hour to 11 due to cooler weather due in the morning. The match was originally at 10 a.m. … dating back to February 7, 2013, UNM is 48-10 at home.