ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- No Ana Veroux and no Lea Malazdra? No problem. New Mexico was forced to use a makeshift lineup due to a pair of injuries to a pair of top players, but UNM's subs picked up a massive doubles win, and Vianca Corley had her best win of the season to clinch UNM's 4-1 victory over New Mexico State.
The win moved the Lobos to 6-2 on the year, and it dropped the Aggies to 1-6. The Lobos host Northern Arizona on Saturday at 11 a.m., and that match will be played inside the Randy Briggs Indoor Tennis Bubbles.
With Veroux and Malazdra out, UNM inserted Marika Matsoukatidi and Coumba Ben Niangadoa for their first match together all season. They took on Anna Pinaieva and Nadia Nemeth, and the Lobo tandem, playing together for the first time all season, won 6-3, clinching a 1-0 Lobo lead.
That was the clincher as Bente Vandeputte and Yu Yun "Kathy" Tsai won 6-2 right before. UNM's Vicky Maes paired up the Corley twins, and Vianca and Vivica were even at 5-5 at No. 3 doubles.
In singles, the teams would likely split four matches. At No. 3 singles, Tsai bolted out to a 6-2 first-set win, and Ramona Petre took a 6-1 opening-set win at No. 6 over Mariella Gelbke.
With UNM up on those two courts, Aggie veterans Pinaieva and Whitney Moon took their opening two sets. Pineaiva, using a highly effective hard underhard serve, won her opening set at No. 1 6-3 over Vandeputte, and Moon easily won her first set over Viance Corley 6-1.
They meant it looked like things were going to come down to No. 4 and No. 5 singles. UNM's Matsoukatidi was serving for the opening set against Montana Parkinson-Lubold, but she missed out on closing it, falling 7-5. Vivica Corley, playing No. 5, won a tiebreak over Emma Petton to give each team three opening sets.
For UNM, Petra finished her deal over Gelbke 6-1, 6-3, and Tsai did likewise over Dora Kurdi 6-2, 6-3, giving UNM a 3-0 lead. While Parkinson-Lubold would go on to win 7-5, 6-1 to make it 3-1, Vandeputte and Vianca Corley stifled NMSU.
Vandeputte didn't win her match, but she bounced back from her opening set loss with a wild 8-6 tiebreaker in the second set to extend things and keep NMSU at bay.
And with that, it was Corley's time to shine. Facing a veteran in Moon, who had won seven of her last eight matches and was 13-4 on the season, Corley went to work. Wearing down Moon, Corley bounced back to flesh out a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win, clinching the win for the Lobos, moving UNM to 6-2.
NOTES: Petre remained the team leader in singles wins with 11 ... Vianca and Tsai moved into double-digits in singles wins with 10 ... Matsoukatidi was playing in her first doubles match of the spring.