by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's tennis team has endured one roller-coaster ride of a conference season.
After starting 0-4 in the Mountain West Conference, the Lobos have won four in a row and ended regular-season play with three sweeps at home this weekend.
Hosting the final three matches of its regular season, UNM cruised through Colorado State and Wyoming on Thursday and Friday before handling Air Force on Sunday. The Lobos won all three matches 7-0.
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UNM head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said the up-and-down season was partly caused by the team playing the tougher conference opponents early on, in addition to it playing better at the end of MWC play.
"We're on a winning note, and I just feel we're playing better," she said. "We took our knocks. We took our losses. But we learned from them, and we get better playing those better teams. I'm just hoping we can maintain it."
After the wins on Thursday and Friday, UNM hosted Air Force for Senior Day on Sunday.
No. 1 doubles tandem Lucy Scott and Sandra Zmak cruised to an 8-1 win in their match to set the tone early for the Lobos.
UNM's No. 2 doubles team of Ola Abou-Zekry and Jennifer Ryba jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Air Force pulled to within 6-5. However, Abou-Zekry and Ryba held on for an 8-5 win to clinch the doubles point.
Abou-Zekry said the weather and complacency played a part in Air Force's near-rally.
"I think we had the match, but we started relaxing, and it was really windy," she said. "They started picking it up, but we got it at the end."
Scott said the duo's quick win in doubles gave the two momentum in singles play.
"It always helps having won pretty easily to go into your singles," Scott said. "You know their morale's down, too, because they lost."
Zmak gave the Lobos their first singles point by winning at the No. 2 position 6-0, 6-2. She did not lose a single set during the weekend, winning 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday and 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.
Kolankiewicz said the team has come together, and Zmak's recent play is a representation
of that.
"She's really picked it up a level the last four weeks," she said. "It's great to see. She's playing awesome, steady, and that's great heading into conference."
Zmak said the Lobos were letting the losses get to them, but the recent success has boosted their morale.
"At the beginning, we were losing, and everything was so tight," she said. "Now finally we're winning, so we're really confident."
In Sunday's win against Air Force, all but one Lobo player won her singles match in two sets.
At the No. 3 position, Mackenzie White dropped her first set 6-3 before winning the second set 6-1. She then won the third set 10-5 to secure the shutout for UNM.
Kolankiewicz said UNM's effort on Sunday can help propel the team heading into the MWC Championships, which begin April 26 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"We managed to pull through," she said. "They always fight hard - Air Force - and they battled with us, but we were just the better team. We're going to have a tough first round at conference, but we're planning on pulling an upset there."
Doubles
No. 1 Lucy Scott/Sandra Zmak of UNM defeated Christine Abayan/Lauren Wilson of
Air Force 8-1
No. 2 Ola Abou-Zekry/Jennifer Ryba of UNM defeated Jennifer Walters/Kelly Morgan of Air Force 8-5
No. 3 Meghan Kiser/Erika Shortridge of Air Force defeated Nora Quintal/Allison Davis of UNM 8-6
Singles
No. 1 Abou-Zekry of UNM defeated Abayan of Air Force 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 Zmak of UNM defeated Wilson of
Air Force 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 Mackenzie White of UNM defeated Kiser of Air Force 3-6, 6-1, 10-5
No. 4 Quintal of UNM defeated Walters of Air Force 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Scott of UNM defeated Morgan of Air Force 6-2, 6-1.
No. 6 Ryba of UNM defeated Erlyn Rudico of Air Force 6-0, 6-4
Women's tennis at MWC Championships
April 26, all day
Colorado Springs, Colo.
