The aroma of Wilson tennis balls filled the air as the UNM women's tennis team hosted its first tournament of the year at the UNM Tennis Complex.
The team was led by senior Ola Abou-Zekry.
Abou-Zekry and Anya Villanueva Forte represented the Lobos in two finals. The tournament was comprised of three smaller tournaments - Flight A, Flight B and Flight C.
Abou-Zekry lost to Denver's Annette Aksdale 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 in Flight A. Villanueva Forte was defeated by Northern Arizona's Yumi Hasegawa 6-1, 6-2 in Flight C.
The tournament gave a younger Lobo team a chance to get some experience before the Mountain West Conference Tournament rolls around in early spring.
"We have a big group of freshmen, so it is kind of hard to have any expectations," UNM assistant coach Roy Canada said. "I was expecting us to compete hard and play a lot of tennis, and this is a starter."
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The tournament also gave one Lobo a chance to make a statement about the kind of tennis that will be played this year.
Abou-Zekry beat out three competitors Friday and Saturday to make her way to the final Flight A.
Flight A consisted of the top-rated players.
Abou-Zekry easily won her first match, taking outˇTexas Tech'sˇNatalie Leitch in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Abou-Zekry went on to retire ASU's Leslie Vial in a slightly closer three-set match, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. In her semifinal match, Abou-Zekry closed out Julia Bauregger, 6-4, 6-3.
Abou-Zekry said she was fatigued but fought on.
"Right now, it's pretty sore. It's exhausted," Abou-Zekry said of her body. "We played three matches on Friday and three on Saturday, so it's a lot of tennis."
And on Sunday morning Abou-Zekry faced Denver's Annette Aksdale in a marathon that went on for just short of four hours.
The match was filled with extended deuce games and tie-breaker sets. Abou-Zekry narrowly lost the first set 6-7 but fought back in the second set, winning 7-6 to tie the match at one set apiece.
It looked as if Abou-Zekry would cruise to victory in the third set. She broke Aksdale to go up 5-3. But clear signs of fatigue and frustration set in as she tried to serve out the match. Aksdale took advantage and won the final five games in a row to finish the match, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5.
Abou-Zekry said she's not too worried about the result.
"Our season is in the spring, and these tournaments are meant to get more matches in and get more experience," she said.
In Flight C, sophomore Villanueva Forte made it to the final but was defeated by Yumi Hasegawa of Northern Arizona.
Head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz, who announced last week that she will retire after this season, said the Lobos have two goals this season.
"We want to get to the NCAA tournament, and we want to win the conference tournament," she said. "(They're) pretty simple, but those are big goals for us. That won't happen until April or May of next year, but that is what we are shooting for."
