The No. 67 UNM women's tennis team is gearing up for a battle against No. 7 Northwestern this weekend.
The matchup is the first time the Lobos will host a top-10 team.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said the team is excited for the contest.
"I think the team realizes that this is a great opportunity for us," she said. "Really, we've got nothing to lose whatsoever. So, the pressure is on them coming in here and playing us."
After a 5-2 loss to No. 16 Vanderbilt and a 4-3 victory over No. 38 Colorado last weekend, UNM has plenty of experience facing higher-ranked teams this season.
"The win last weekend definitely gives us some confidence," junior Mackenzie White said. "It helps us realize that we are capable of beating teams even if they are ranked ahead of us."
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In preparation for the Northwestern dual, UNM hosted an exhibition match against Monterrey Tech, Mexico, on Wednesday.
"The goal was to get some of our team out there that hasn't had a chance to play yet this spring and get them a nice practice match," Kolankiewicz said. "I'm pleasantly surprised. They are a great team, and we had some good matches."
After falling behind early, White and senior Jennifer Ryba fought back to an 8-6 win over Monterrey Tech's Ana Trevino and Natalia Salum at the No. 1 doubles position.
Redshirt freshman Ashley Bonner paired up with newcomer Anya Villanueva-Forte for a 9-7 victory over Adriana Canepa and Nora Madrato.
"The doubles went good," Kolankiewicz said. "We fought hard and pulled out two close doubles matches. And singles was close - we won two and lost two. I thought the level was pretty good on all of the matches."
Freshman Emma Hayman, who won the deciding match Saturday in three sets, topped Salum 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 in a third-set tiebreak during the exhibition.
"I felt really good on the court," Hayman said after the match. "I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I would have liked, and my forehand was letting me down a bit. Usually, that's my weapon. I'm still glad I came away with the close win."
Hayman said she will take the experience into this weekend's matchup.
"I think we're all going into the contest with a positive attitude," she said. "We can do anything. They're a very good team. So, we just want to go out there with solid minds and believe in ourselves."
In addition to the exhibition, UNM has been working hard to prepare for the top-10 opponent, White said.
"We've been working on our confidence and making sure we can hit the shots that we need to hit," she said. "We practiced drop shots. We practiced serves. We practiced everything to make sure that we have everything fine-tuned for this weekend."
Hayman said UNM focused on doubles in practice this week.
"We've been trying out some new doubles combinations in practice because doubles is important," she said. "We didn't do so well last week. So, we're going to focus a lot on the doubles point."
And doubles will be the key to a win, Kolankiewicz said.
"Winning the doubles point is a psychological edge," she said. "When you win the doubles point, you've got the momentum on your side, and you feel good going into singles."
Women's tennis vs. Northwestern
Saturday, 5 p.m.
UNM Tennis Complex
