Lobos Win Frosty Opener 5-2 in Denver
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When you haven’t faced an opponent on the court in nearly 11 months due like the New Mexico women’s tennis team, you are thankful for any opportunity to face a different school. The 2020 season opener might have tested that thankfulness just a tad.
In an outdoor match that started just above freezing at 33 degrees Fahrenheit and finished at 19 degrees with blustery snow falling, the Lobos defeated both the elements at Metro State, a Division II school in Denver, for a season opening 5-2 victory. Metro State, which has played two exhibitions against Division I schools and now two regular season matches against Division I schools, is 0-2.
The Lobos stay in Colorado for an 11 a.m. match on Friday, but thankfully for all involved, it will be played on indoor courts against CSU-Pueblo.
“Our team had to battle today. Conditions were extremely difficult, undoubtedly the coldest temperatures any of us have ever played in,” said third-year head coach Vicky Maes. “It wasn’t pretty, it was a struggle here and there, but we competed hard and got the win. I’m proud of the group and we will only get better as the season goes in.”
“It’s been almost a year since we last took the court, so we are grateful to be back doing what we love. Another one tomorrow and a great opportunity to improve some more.”
head coach Vicky Maes
Having not played in 11 months and only having practiced for a little over two weeks, Maes was thankful for Metro State’s hospitality in hosting the match, a rarity for a Division II school to do with a Division I team as the road squad.
“It’s been almost a year since we last took the court, so we are grateful to be back doing what we love. Another one tomorrow and a great opportunity to improve some more,” said Maes.
UNM’s new-look lineup with had a pair of newcomers and three new doubles teams making their debuts, and it worked out quite well as UNM swept the doubles point with relative ease. Hsaing-Wen “Albie” Huang teamed up with freshman Hsuan Huang (no relation) for a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles. Finishing right behind them to clinch the opening point was My Kagayama and freshman Satoho Toriumi, who won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Playing No. 1 and together for the first time, Natasha Munday and Yue Lin “Polly” Chen won 6-4 to sweep all three matches.
From there despite the weather, the match went to singles and the weather was a factor in evening out the play. Using just four courts, only the first four singles matches got started, with Chen opening her season with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win in her first match at No. 2 singles since her freshman year in 2018.
That match ended fairly early, allowing Hsuan Huang to get on the court at No. 5 singles. The other three early matches would all go three sets. Munday, playing No. 1 for the first time in her career, recovered from an opening set loss to force a third, while teammates Danielle Quevedo at No. 3 and Kageyama at No. 4 did the opposite, winning their opening sets but losing the second. Quevedo’s was particularly heartbreaking, dropping a second set tiebreaker 7-5.
With all in the third set, Huang easily won her first set 6-0. Munday then dropped her third set 6-3 to gain a point for Metro State, making it 2-1. UNM quickly clinched the match behind a 6-3 win by Quevedo and then a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreak win by Kageyama.
With the temperature dropping, Albie Huang hit the court and split her first two sets as Hsuan Huang swept her match 6-0, 6-2 to make it 5-1. With snow coming down and Denver more apt for a Broncos game than a tennis match, Albie Huang and Lilly Stienemeier played a 10-point third-set tiebreak, with Stienemeier winning 10-8 to end it.
The match was the first of four in five days over three cities and two states for New Mexico, which faces CSU-Pueblo tomorrow at 11 a.m. before hitting the highway to head to Lubbock, Texas. There UNM will play Abilene Christian on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Mountain Time at Texas Tech before facing the host Red Raiders on Monday.
NOTES: Chen’s doubles win equals her 2020 total … Chen now has 44 singles wins, the active leader on the squad … Munday played No. 1 despite never playing even as high as No. 2 in her career. She played three matches last year at No. 3 … Albie Huang hadn’t lost at No. 6 singles since 2018 … Munday now has 48 doubles wins, making her the active wins leader in doubles … Chen hadn’t played No. 2 singles since her freshman year in 2018.