ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- It took nearly four hours, but in the end it was absolutely worth every single minute. In a wild match with swings and ebbs and flows that resembled something that would make most seasick, the Lobos got a 9-7 third-set tiebreak win from Marika Matsoukatidi and then a clinching 6-4 third-set win from Lea Malazdra as the Lobos defeated San Jose State in a thriller, 4-3.
The win pushed UNM to 11-6 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West while the Spartans dropped to 7-7 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The Lobos took the doubles point rather easily, winning 6-0 at No. 2 doubles as Vianca and Vivica Corley basically did Corley things to get the win, a second 6-0 win in three matches. Yu Yun “Kathy” Tsai and Bente Vandeputte also won at No. 3 6-3 to give UNM the opening point. Seemingly, it was the last easy thing for UNM on the day.
The first three singles matches all finished in straight sets, with UNM winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4 as Tsai had no issues with Tara Mihaljevic. The Spartans took the other two matches, and No. 1 and No. 2 to tie things up at 2-2.
From there, it was all about the third sets, and really, the tiebreakers. Amma Fantousis of SJSU took down Ana Veroux 6-4, 1-6, 6-7 (3-7) to make it 3-2, meaning UNM had to have the final two matches. Once again, Marika Matsoukatidi was in a crunch time situation with UNM’s match life on the line in a tiebreaker, and just like against Nevada, she delivered, again needing extra time. She won her tiebreak 9-7, saving a match point that would have given San Jose State the match, and it was 3-3, with Malazdra up 5-4 in the third. She then finished it off, winning 6-4 to set off a wild celebration and earning a split of the weekend.
The Lobos return to the road to take on a pair of ranked teams in San Diego State and Grand Canyon next Friday and Sunday.