The UNM women’s tennis team was blanked by Kansas State on Sunday at UNM’s Linda Estes Tennis Center.
The Lobos failed to win a match in the 7-0 loss, but head coach Roy Cañada said the match was closer than the score indicated.
“It was actually a very close match,” he said. “We were right there with them in singles. A few points here and there, and it could have been a different story. I’m happy to see we’re playing with a lot of heart and determination, but we’re having trouble putting matches away, and we’re getting tight when the match is on the line.”
With No. 2 player and co-captain Ashley Bonner sidelined with a back injury, Cañada switched up the doubles pairings to compensate for Bonner’s absence.
Freshman Kristin Eggleston moved up to No. 1 doubles with junior Anya Villanueva to drop an 8-0 decision, and sophomore Eliane Bourdages made her spring season debut at No. 3 doubles and was paired with freshman Laura Richardson.
“It is difficult to play with someone you’re not used to,” Richardson said, who lost 8-5. “I mean, when you are used to someone’s playing style, you can almost guess what shot they’re going to hit next. But we can’t use that as an excuse. Kansas State was just more aggressive in doubles, and we need to work on getting to the net and taking the first strike.”
After grabbing the doubles point, the Wildcats picked up two more wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles to take a quick 3-0 lead.
Needing just one more point to clinch the match, Kansas State had to scrap and claw for it, as the Lobos refused to keel over.
“We fought hard and gave it our all,” Richardson said. “We were in every singles match, and I thought it showed a lot about our team — just being able to come back and not give up.”
Bourdages dropped a marathon match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Kansas State’s Maryna Chumak at No. 5 singles to clinch the match.
Eggleston also lost a 6-4, 6-7, 10-6 heartbreaker in a third-set tiebreak. And Richardson suffered a tough 7-6, 6-4 loss in two and a half hours at No. 2 singles.
But it was freshman Amy Shipperd, who had the longest match of the day, lasting almost three hours. Shipperd lost 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to Kansas State’s Petra Chuda at the No. 3 spot.
“I actually thought I played pretty well,” Shipperd said. “I was down 5-2 and 4-1 in the second and third set, and managed to come back a little.”
With the loss, UNM is 1-6 in the season. The Lobos now start an 11-match road trip in which they will face four ranked teams, beginning with No. 24 Boise State next weekend. UNM doesn’t have another home match until April 16.
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“We travel pretty well,” Cañada said. “These next few matches will give us some great experience playing some quality teams. I’m excited about the competition and for us to see what we’re made of.”
