Lobos Clipped By Unbeaten SJSU 4-3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Lobo women’s tennis team is in a run where the breaks just aren’t going their way.  Against unbeaten San Jose State, they fell one break short.

The Lobos put together a game effort, but the Spartans improved to 13-0 with a 4-3 victory over UNM, taking the final two matches to sneak out with the win.  UNM fell to 7-8 and 1-6 in the conference, and have dropped six straight, including back-to-back 4-3 decisions.  This one hurt a little more if only because UNM came as close as anyone to knocking the Spartans from the unbeaten ranks.

Still scuffling without Sara Kuuttila-Webbert and Danielle Quevedo, UNM took the doubles point for the second straight day with a sweep, getting identical 6-2 wins from Natasha Munday and Hsuan Huang at No. 1 and Hsiang-Wen “Albie” Huang and Satoho Toriumi at No. 3.

The top four singles matches were as close as close can be, all going three sets and five tiebreakers among the 12 sets.  The Spartans got the first match two matches at No. 3 as Irena Muradyan beat Hsuan Huang 6-4, 6-7 (7-2) 4-6 and then at No. 1 as Alba Pedrero Galindo topped Yue Lin “Polly” Chen 5-7, 6-1, 7-6.  That final tiebreaker loss would prove costly when Myu Kageyama picked up her team-leading ninth win with a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) win.  That tied the match at 2-2, and UNM went up 3-2 when Munday earned a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 win.  That gave UNM a 3-2 lead, but the final two matches didn’t go UNM’s way.

San Jose State took wins at No. 5 (6-2, 6-3) and No. 6 (6-0, 6-4) to clinch their 13th straight win.

UNM travels on the road for its final two matches of the year next week, taking on Fresno State (Saturday) and Nevada (Sunday) in Reno.