The UNM women's tennis team opened its season in style this weekend.
No. 67 UNM rallied to beat No. 38 Colorado 4-3 in a nail-biter at the UNM Tennis Complex on Saturday.
The win marked the first time the Lobos have beaten a top-40 school in more than a year.
"This weekend went extremely well for us," head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said. "We put in 10 good, hard days of practice coming into this weekend, and it paid off for us. It was a great way to start off the season."
After losing all three doubles matches Saturday, the Lobos had to rely on wins in singles for the come-from-behind win.
Junior Mackenzie White helped her team with a singles win, beating CU's Melisa Esposito 6-4, 6-1.
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White said the Buffaloes were determined, but she worked hard to win the match.
"I started out a little slow," she said. "She came out firing, and I had to pick up my game for the win. But, overall, it was a good result."
With White's win and UNM seniors Lucy Scott and Jennifer Ryba snatching victories, the dual was tied at 3-3 with only one match remaining: freshman Emma Hayman at the No. 5 position.
Hayman battled CU's Gleisy Torres Torres, winning the first set 7-6 in a tie-break. But Torres caught momentum and came back to win the second set 2-6. Hayman rallied in the third 6-3, breaking the tie and giving the Lobos the win.
"(Hayman) was dragging in the first and second sets," Kolankiewicz said. "She played a great tie-breaker for the first set and pushed through in the third for the win. I'm proud of the way that she handled the pressure, especially as a freshman playing against a senior from Colorado."
The team rallied together to cheer for Hayman and gave her that extra push during the third set, Kolankiewicz said.
"I think it hit her in the third set how important her match was," she said. "The team was all there yelling and cheering after good shots and keeping her positive. I told her to find some adrenaline and just keep pushing. And she did."
The Lobos are 1-1 on the season, after falling 5-2 against No. 16 Vanderbilt in the season opener Friday.
Despite the loss, Kolankiewicz said a lot of positives could be taken from Friday's opener.
"Vanderbilt is a great team, and the two wins marks the most wins against a top-16 school in program history," she said. "We knew we had nothing to lose. So, when (freshman) Victoria (Tessmar) came in to replace Lucy who was sick with a stomach flu, she just dominated at the No. 6 spot. And Ola (Abou-Zekry) had the huge win against the No. 24 player in the country. It's Ola's biggest win to date."
White said the Lobos are proud of all of their successes this weekend but are looking to the future.
"I think we have a good season ahead of us," she said. "We play lots of good teams, and we have a really good team ourselves. We have lots of depth. All 10 of us could easily be in the top six. It's going to be a great season."
Women's tennis vs. Monterrey Tech exhibition
Wednesday, 5 p.m.
UNM Tennis Complex
