The New Mexico women’s tennis team could be peaking at the right time, winning its fourth straight match at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center over the weekend.
The Lobos (5-11, 2-0 MW) earned a pair of wins to open up conference play, defeating Utah State on Friday and Boise State on Sunday.
Ludivine Burguiere and Cassie Chung got UNM off on the right foot on Friday, teaming up to take a 6-4 victory in doubles play. Senior teammates Rachana Bhat and Dominique Dulski paired to defeat their opponents 7-5 and pick up the lone doubles point to take a 1-0 lead over Utah State.
Dulski has seemed to find her stride, winning her fourth straight singles match at the time, a release said. She defeated Monika Van de Vondel, 6-1, 6-1 to put UNM up 2-0 in the team score.
Utah State answered back with a win at the No. 1 position over Ludivine Burguiere, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0.
But freshman Diana Wong bounced back in a big way after putting up a bagel in her first set. She put UNM within one point of a team win with a triumph over Sabrina Demaerath, 0-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Bhat earned the match-clinching point with a gutty performance in which she took a first-set tiebreaker, and riding the momentum to the 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 victory. The schools split the remaining two matches as the Lobos took a 5-2 team win.
On Sunday, the Lobos received an even tougher test when they played the final home match of the season.
UNM got off to a good start again, taking a pair of 6-0 matches in doubles play to go up 1-0 over Boise State.
That point proved to be a huge one, as the schools traded points the rest of the way. Boise State evened the team score after Anja Dokic dispatched of
Lobo freshmen Wong and Chung both earned straight set victories to put UNM on top, but the teams were tied at 3-3 after Dulski was taken out at the No. 3 position, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
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For the second time in as many matches, Bhat found herself with the opportunity to earn the clinching point. And for the second time, she came through for her team.
Bhat avoided a tiebreaker and the possibility of being taken into a third set, defeating Wiktoria Nosek, 6-3, 7-5. She sent her senior class out in style, winning their final home match 4-3 in dramatic fashion.
The victory extends the women’s winning streak to a season-high four matches, but things could get tough as the team will wrap up the regular season with four straight road matches.
UNM has not yet won a true road match and just once at a neutral site, posting a combined 1-9 record away from home.
Three of the four remaining matches are against conference opponents, which could be huge considering UNM will likely need to win the Mountain West if it hopes to earn
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
