Women's Tennis Rolls at Bedford Cup on Opening Day
Colorado Springs, Colo. — It wasn’t a perfect day on the tennis courts in Colorado Springs, but for The University of New Mexico, it was pretty close. The Lobos brought eight players to the Second Annual Bedford Cup, and the group went 13-2 in singles on the day, with six players advancing to the quarterfinals in two separate brackets, with UNM’s five returning players going 9-0.
“Our team did a fantastic job today, and I was truly impressed by their opening rounds,” said head coach Vicky Maes. “There are certainly areas we need to improve upon, but we are showing a lot of promise. Everyone went out and battled hard for points. I am really pleased with the progress we are making and hopefully we keep it rolling tomorrow.”
In the Alpha singles bracket, Bronte Murgett, Danielle Quevedo and lone freshman Alisia Manolescu each went 2-0 on the day, and combined they went undefeated, not losing a set. Murgett had a tricky opening match and needed a tiebreaker in the second set to sweep Emilie Haakansson of Northern Arizona before breezing past Air Force’s Abby Wagner 6-1, 6-1. Quevedo took down CSU’s Emily Leutschwager by an identical 6-1, 6-1 score before taking down Nadeen Lieberman of Air Force 6-1, 7-5.
Manolescu, UNM’s lone rookie came to UNM with big credentials out of Canada, and she showed early she is more than ready for NCAA tennis with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Wyoming’s Ana Royo and then a 6-3, 6-1 win over Southern Utah’s Jessica Stefan. Murgett is alone at the top of the bracket with a quarterfinal matchup with Colorado State’s Priscilla Palmero upcoming on Friday. Quevedo and Murgett could meet in the semifinals if they handle things in the quarterfinals. Quevedo will face Air Force’s Ashleigh Harvey while Manolescu has the tough task of taking on one of the Mountain West’s best in Air Force’s TJ. Fumigalli, who went 31-3 last year.
Harvey took down on of UNM’s two transfers, Sara Kuuttila-Webbert in the opening round 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, but Kuuttila-Webbert bounced back with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Raffa Mora or Northern Colorado in the backdraw. UNM’s other transfer, Mya Kugeyama also fell in the opening round, losing 6-3, 6-2 to CSU’s Stella Cliffe. She too bounced back in the backdraw, winning 6-0, 6-3 over Wyoming’s Ida Krause.
In the Bravo draw, no Lobo lost as UNM’s trimvarate there went 5-0. Hsiang-Wen “Albie” Huang had a bye, so she opened with a round of 16 match with NAU’s Sydney Roman, and she rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 win. Yue Lin “Polly” Chen had a fairly easy time advancing to the quarterfinals, winning 6-2, 6-2 over Northern Colorado’s Natalie Stanton and winning 6-4, 6-1 over Shailla Alda of Air Force. Natasha Munday also went 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals, winning 6-0, 7-5 over Dols or Southern Utah and 6-4, 6-3 over Colorado State’s Emma Corwin.
Chen will play Alex Kuo of Air Force in the quarterfinals, with Munday taking on Northern Arizona’s Mimi Bland and Huang facing Air Force’s Mebeli Becerra. Munday and Huang would face each other with a win.
Friday’s action will feature just one round of singles and the opening two rounds of doubles.
Alpha Singles Round of 32
Stella Cliffe (Colorado State) def. Mya Kugeyama 6-3, 6-2
Bronte Murgett def. Emilie Haakansson (Northern Arizona) 7-5, 7-6 (9-7)
Alisia Manolescu def. Ana Royo (Wyoming) 6-2, 6-4
Ashleigh Harvey (Air Force) def. Sara Kuuttila-Webbert 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Danielle Quevedo def. Emily Leutschwager (Colorado State) 6-1, 6-1
Alpha Singles Round of 16
Bronte Murgett def. Abby Wagner (Air Force) 6-1, 6-1
Alisia Manolescu def. Jessica Stefan (Southern Utah) 6-3, 6-1
Danielle Quevedo def. Nadeen Lieberman (Air Force) 6-1, 7-5
Alpha Singles Backdraw
Mya Kugeyama def. Ida Krause (Wyoming) 6-0, 6-3
Sara Kuuttila-Webbert def. Raffa Mora (Northern Colorado) 7-5, 6-3
Bravo Singles Round of 32
Yue Lin “Polly” Chen def. Natalie Stanton (Northern Colorado) 6-2, 6-2
Natasha Munday def. Dols (Southern Utah) 6-0, 7-5
Hsiang-Wen “Albie” Huang, bye into next round
Bravo Singles Round of 16
Yue Lin “Polly” Chen def. Shailla Alda (Air Force) 6-4. 6-1
Natasha Munday def. Emma Corwin (Colorado State) 6-4, 6-3
Hsiang-Wen “Albie” Huang def. Sydney Roman (Northern Arizona) 6-3, 6-0