by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
The Lobos didn't find it hard to defend their home court this weekend.
The No. 35 UNM women's tennis team made its home season debut with a pair of 6-1 victories over Northern Arizona and Marquette on Friday and Sunday at the UNM Tennis Complex.
With the wins, the Lobos improved to 4-0 on the season.
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Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said the team is starting to gel.
"I thought we came out here ready to play," Kolankiewicz said. "We asked the team to do a few things for us after Friday night's match, and I felt like they did what we asked. There were definite improvements from Friday to Sunday."
On Friday, the Lobos jumped out to a 1-0 lead as they breezed through their doubles matches over NAU, winning all three.
In singles action, the team took all but one match. UNM's No. 1 singles player, senior Iva Gersic, was first to finish with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over NAU's Patrice Biemold.
Freshman Sandra Zmak defeated Leslie Vial 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 4 position.
Sophomore Mackenzie White clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot.
Junior Ola Abou-Zekry, ranked No. 62 nationally, had a tough match Friday but edged NAU's Katie Schurr 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 at the No. 2 position. Abou-Zekry won in a third-set tiebreaker 10-6.
Abou-Zekry said the win didn't come easy.
"I played OK, but I didn't play my best," Abou-Zekry said. "I managed to change my game a little bit so that I could beat her. The team played well, so I hope we keep improving throughout the season."
In the Marquette match, junior Lucy Scott and Zmak defeated Maria Calbeto and Dominika Dabrowski, 8-4 at the No. 2 spot.
White and junior Jennifer Ryba lost their first doubles match of the season at the No. 3 position, falling 8-5 to Marquette's Erin Watkins and Francina Bonnelly.
Gersic and Abou-Zekry secured the doubles point for the Lobos, defeating Lauren Little and Shannon Brown 9-7.
Kolankiewicz said winning the doubles point was crucial.
"Doubles is played first, which is a critical time in the match," she said. "I think it is more important psychologically than the actual point you receive. Just being up 1-0 going into singles is a definite advantage."
In singles, Zmak beat Calbeto 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 3 position to put UNM up 2-0.
Scott handled Bonnelly 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5. Gersic clinched the match for the Lobos with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kylie Moore at the No. 1 singles spot.
Abou-Zekry and White added two more wins, while Ryba took the only loss for UNM on Sunday.
Despite the wins, the Lobos still have a few things that need improvement, Kolankiewicz said.
"We are going to have three good days to practice for next weekend," she said. "We want to practice taking control of our points and being a little bit more aggressive on our volleys, especially our high volleys."
Kolankiewicz said she is optimistic about the Lobos' future.
"We're a really solid team," she said. "We are all learning and trying to get better on any given day. We just want to make sure that all of our players come out to practice every single day with the goal and intention that they are going to get better. If you get a little better each day, by the end of the season, hopefully we are playing our best tennis."
Women's tennis vs. Boise State
Friday, 6 p.m.
UNM Tennis Complex
