The relatively young UNM women's tennis team was overpowered 6-1 by Furman University Tuesday night at the Lobo Tennis Club.
The Lobos fell to 4-5 after securing only one victory in singles play.
The match began with UNM losing the doubles point as Rachel Hatley and Tjasa Suvak dropped the number one match 8-6 to Natalie The and Megan Dunigan. The number two and three spots would follow suit quickly, and the Lobos fell behind early.
In the number two position, Tiffany Robertson and Sandy Lukowski earned two late service breaks to even the match at eight and force a tiebreaker.
UNM couldn't sustain the pressure, though, and lost 7-1 to Mary Kovarik and Caroline Bentley in the tiebreak. The number three team of Maria Ruiz-Fabrega and Regula Comtesse made an identical comeback of their own. Down 7-4 to Furmans' McCall Holman and Mary Neill Hagood, Ruiz-Fabrega and Comtesse rallied to tie the score at eight before dropping the tiebreaker.
"We relaxed a little bit and fought back," Ruiz-Fabrega said. "We just got a little tense at the end and didn't hit our shots. We didn't come in on them enough."
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Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said that the tough doubles matches may have affected the singles play.
"Doubles were so incredibly close," she said. "It's tough playing that close and then having to come back in 10 minutes and get fired up."
Freshman Tiffany Robertson was the lone Lobo to win on the singles side. She played solid, aggressive tennis to defeat The at the number five spot 6-3, 7-5.
Kolankiewicz said she was pleased with Robertson's victory.
"She played extremely well today," she said. "She got to the net a lot and was really effective up there. She has such a big forehand, she needs to follow it up by coming in and putting those volleys away."
Robertson said that it was difficult trying to focus after losing such a tight doubles match.
"It's hard; doubles is a team thing and it really hurts to lose," she said. "I just tried to forget about the loss and win my singles because I'd be extra disappointed if I lost doubles and singles."
At the number one singles spot, Suvak battled but couldn't crack Dunigan, who is ranked 22nd in the Southeast region in singles play. The two pounded away from the baseline, but the difference was that Suvak committed more unforced errors and struggled with her first serve. Dunigan punished Suvak by capitilizing on the Lobo's second serve, taking two breaks in each set to win the match 6-3, 6-3.
Kovarik ousted Lukowski at the number two spot 6-1, 6-4. In the number three position, Michelle Heidlbrink served for the first set twice but couldn't hold at 5-4 and 6-5.
She lost the subsequent tiebreaker and the match 7-6, 6-0 to Gene Holman. At the four spot, Paladins' Mary Neill Hagood beat Courtney Choate 6-3, 6-2 while the number five position saw Bentley drop Comtesse 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in a tight three set match.
Kolankiewicz said that while she is disappointed with the loss, it is a good learning experience for her young team, which often starts three freshman.
"Furman played great, we didn't," she said. "We need to figure out how we can start winning the close ones. We're still a bit inexperienced."
The Lobos next match is this weekend when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the Las Vegas Invitational.
