The No. 55 UNM women's tennis team defeated two higher ranked teams this weekend to close out its regular season schedule.
The Lobos beat No. 54 Utah and No. 38 BYU before falling to No. 24 TCU on Sunday at the UNM Tennis Complex.
UNM finishes its regular season 14-8 overall and 6-2 in the MWC.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said she is proud of her team's effort on the weekend.
"I think we are playing with a lot of heart right now," she said. "We're solid as a team. If we go out there and give 110 percent, good things will happen. It was great to squeak out two close wins on our home courts."
UNM played without its No. 2 singles player, Sandra Zmak, who sprained her ankle during practice on March 26.
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"It was a third-degree ankle sprain, which is a four- to-eight week recovery time," Kolankiewicz said. "But she has been working hard rehabbing it, and I think she'll try to get out next week and hit a few. It will be day-to-day situation with her."
The Lobos opened the weekend with a come-from-behind win over Utah. After dropping the doubles point and two singles matches, UNM rallied to a 4-3 win.
Senior Jennifer Ryba clinched the match with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Utah's Karine Bourdages at the No. 5 position.
"It was a win," Kolankiewicz said. "There's really no way I can single out any one girl. All four wins were big for us. Everyone stepped up when they had to, and I think that's a great asset to have going into conference."
On Saturday, the Lobos pulled off a 4-3 upset over BYU.
Junior Ola Abou-Zekry, ranked No. 123 nationally, beat No. 65 Anastasia Surkova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 at the top spot.
"It was probably one of the biggest wins for us in the past couple of years," Kolankiewicz said. "They're a top-40 school, and the win will help with our NCAA chances. We should move up in the rankings."
UNM was swept by TCU 7-0 during Senior Day on Sunday.
Kolankiewicz said seniors Ryba and Lucy Scott have left their marks on the UNM tennis program.
"Lucy walks out of here with a winning record in singles and doubles all four years, and Jen walks out of here with winning records in singles all four years," she said. "I think they are playing some of their best tennis, and it's so great when you peak your senior year. They've been great captains the entire season, and they've helped motivate this team."
In her last doubles match at home, Scott teamed up with Abou-Zekry to top TCU's 12th-ranked tandem of Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska 9-7 at the No. 1 doubles position.
"We played really well. It was probably the best we played together this year," she said. "It was my last doubles match here, and I kept telling myself to just go for it and give it everything I've got."
The Lobos will compete in the MWC Championships on March 23 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Scott said the team is confident heading into conference.
"We're definitely on a high right now," she said. "We won two-out-of-three against higher ranked opponents, which we weren't supposed to do. So, I think our ranking will go up. We were the underdog team during the season, and we've proved some people wrong."
UNM's seeding for the tournament will not be decided until after next weekend's matchups between Utah, BYU and UNLV. The Lobos will be the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed in the MWC Tournament, depending on outcomes.
Ryba said UNM's seeding will be nothing more than a number to the team.
"It doesn't really matter what our seed is," she said. "We've approached every single one of our matches this season with the mind set that we need to win, no matter the opponent. We're going to do whatever it takes to win."
Women's tennis at the Mountain West Conference Tournament
April 23, TBA
Fort Worth, Texas
