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Head UNM women’s tennis coach Erica Perkins Jasper had a lot to prove on Saturday afternoon. Not only was the matchup against Western New Mexico the Lobos’ first home game of the year, it was also her first home game as head coach.
Jasper’s crew met up this weekend with the men’s team, as players each squared off against Western. Both the men’s and women’s teams walked away with a win, as they each beat Western 7-0.
Junior Michaela Bezdickova played particularly well, winning her singles match against Ganna Tiurina 6-1, 6-2. She also won her doubles match with Laura Richardson against Tiurina and Ashley Newell 8-2. Sophomore Susanna Kuuttila, who had not played for the team since a concussion, won her singles match against Davida Aragon 6-1, 6-0, and won her doubles match with sophomore Katie Wookey against Dena Irvin and Claudia Osuna 8-1.
“We’ve got some things we need to work on doubles-wise — our execution can be a little better there — but I’m very happy with how we competed with the singles. We obviously came out and took care of business, which is always great to see,” Jasper said.
The men’s team played a doubleheader on Saturday, resting only two hours between matches with Western New Mexico and Colorado State-Pueblo. The team’s No. 1 seed, senior Conor Berg, held his own at the baseline and at the net throughout his four matches. Berg’s match against Western New Mexico’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Rodrigo Almeida went by without a hitch: Berg won 6-3, 6-2.
Sophomore Simon Hegelund met some opposition in his match against Western New Mexico’s Francisco Damasio. He won his first set 6-0, fell in the second set 6-7 (5-7) and came in ahead in the third 1-0 (10-4). Hegelund said that after speaking with associate head coach Bart Scott, he reassessed his approach of stroke patterns heading into the third set.
“It’s just mental discipline, having to play for every point and being able to execute them,” Hegelund said.
The men’s team won its bout against CSU-Pueblo 7-0, shrugging off losses in the season’s previous matches to out-hustle the ThunderWolves. Freshman Andrew Van der Vyver won each of his four matches, finding his second wind later in the day when he won his singles match against CSU-Pueblo’s Alexando Moncayo-Samperio 6-2, 6-0, and his double match with Berg 8-1.
Men’s head coach Alan Dils said that lately, he has stressed the importance of mental discipline to the team, which he said helped the Lobos win their doubleheader.
“We point out what mental mistakes are, whether it’s showing up late or forgetting your pair of shoes, and it’s also within a match — you don’t cover the right shot, you miss a second serve return or you double fault,” Dils said. “It’s a lot of pressure to go to the conference championship and go to the NCAA. If you can’t handle it here, you can’t handle it there.”
The men’s team also defeated Northern Arizona 4-0 on Sunday.
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