The New Mexico women’s tennis team showed grit and determination, climbing out of an early hole to earn a 5-2 upset victory over Utah on Saturday evening.
The Lobos lost the doubles point after an odd turn of events. New Mexico won the first doubles match as Ruth Copas and Andrea Leblanc defeated Utah’s doubles partners Alexia Petrovic and Sarah Richter, 6-1.
Emily Olivier and Dominique Dulski traded games early in the second doubles match with Margo Pletcher and Brianna Turley, but lost the match, 3-6.
About halfway through the third match, Ludivine Burguiere and Rachana Bhat were leading Taylor Calton and Luisa Gerstner Da Rosa 3-1 when both coaches approached the umpire’s chair. The players were moved to an open court on the east side of the facility to finish the match due to a lighting issue.
After switching courts, Burguiere and Bhat were unable to close out the match, losing all of the remaining games to fall, 3-6. The loss awarded the highly sought-after doubles point to Utah.
Head coach Kelcy McKenna said one of the serves ricocheted off a racquet and hit the switch for the overhead lights. The players were relocated to another court, rather than waiting through a 10 minute delay for the lights to reboot.
She said that playing in isolation as opposed to being next to their teammates might have had an impact, but Utah had already begun to seize some momentum by winning some big points.
McKenna said that losing the doubles point was tough because the team had a lot of opportunities, but just wasn’t able to capitalize on them. She said she knew the team would have to play great points in singles competition.
“The core of the group has had to play from behind a lot and knowing that they’ve done it before helped prepare them,” McKenna said.
The Lobos did just that. Burguiere quickly took care of business, winning her match against Jena Cheng, 6-1, 6-0, tying the schools at one point each.
Copas, already trailing in the second set, was unable to break Calton’s serve to extend the match and fell, 2-6, 3-6, which put Utah back in control.
Bhat pulled the Lobos ahead again, digging her way out of a hole in both sets of her match. She topped Petrovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
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The schools, tied at two points apiece, saw all three remaining matches go into a third set. Dulski put New Mexico in the lead for the first time, and within one point of victory, by besting Turley in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
In the clinching match, Olivier was able to win key points to close out her match after dropping the first set. She was able to win a game late in the second set to go up 5-4 and held serve on a huge no advantage point in the third set to go up 5-3. She closed out her night defeating Richter, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“I didn’t know I was the clinching point,” Olivier said. “I knew they were a good team and every match is crucial. It’s definitely a team effort and as long as we win, I always feel good.”
Leblanc dropped her first set in heartbreaking fashion, losing in a tiebreaker. She responded in a big way, taking the second set 6-1. Leblanc was leading in the third set 3-1 when New Mexico earned the clinching point, but the schools decided to complete the match. Leblanc went on to beat Pletcher 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-3.
“I couldn’t afford turning negative after the first set loss,” Leblanc said. “I adjusted things and I just stayed mentally focused.”
The Lobos, who are now 5-2 on the season, will hit the road and start a six-match stretch that will take them through Kansas and Texas. The first match will be played against Wichita State on Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas. The team will not play another home match until April 1.
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
