Ten years from now, the outcome of Sunday’s match won’t matter to Ashley Bonner and Anya Villanueva; the memories will.
The UNM women’s tennis team fell 6-1 to UNLV on Sunday during the two seniors’ final home match at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex.
No matter Sunday’s outcome, head coach Roy Canada said Bonner and Villanueva have kept the team strong through ups and downs throughout their four-year careers.
“They will be leaving a good legacy,” he said. “… Last year we had a very rough year and they managed to keep the team together.”
The Lobos’ only point came off of an intense 10-point tiebreaker match between Lobo freshman Michaela Bezdickova and UNLV’s Lucia Batta.
The match between Bezdickova and Batta, arguably the best player in the conference, ended 7-5, 2-6 and went to a 10-point tiebreaker, with Bezdickova winning 18-16.
“In my opinion, she clinched all-conference right there,” Canada said. “Batta was the No. 1 player in our region … The biggest thing for (Bezdickova) was winning that 10-point tiebreaker. She had not won one all season. “
Villanueva lost to Aleksandra Josifoska 6-2, 6-0 in her singles match. She said UNLV is ultra talented.
“More than the fight, they have more talent, and you can see on each court they play really well,” Villanueva said. “They were stepping their game up, and once we stepped ours up, they would go even higher.”
The two seniors then played together in the doubles play, but lost 8-4 to the Rebels’ Nives Pavlovic and Josifoska.
Over the course of their careers, the duo was often paired together in doubles play.
Villanueva said she built a special bond with umpires and fans at UNM, and she will miss those moments.
“I think overall I will miss just being close to the umpires because they care and they like when you do well,” she said. “I grew really close to the fans and some ladies would even bring us cookies, and they would cheer on the team.”
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A tearful Bonner said she will miss her partnership with Villanueva and her time at UNM. It’s something she said she will remember for the rest of her life.
“It’s sad, but it was a fun time, and I don’t regret anything,” she said. “It was great playing with Anya, and we interacted well with each other and with the rest of team.”
