The women’s tennis team’s first conference match of the season quickly turned into one-sided affair, of which the Lobos were on the losing end.
The Lobos lost to Boise State 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Linda Estes tennis complex.
“They played better than us on the important points,” head coach Roy Cañada said. “They converted when they needed to, and we didn’t. That was the difference.”
In doubles play, the team of junior Kristin Eggleston and sophomore Michaela Bezdickova battled the Broncos’ Morgan Basil and Sandy Vo, but came up short, losing 8-6.
Sophomore Alyssa Caffey and junior Michaela Oldani lost their match to Broncos Kaitlyn Brown and Sonia Klamcczynska by the same score.
“We played a little tight and a little nervous,” Cañada said. “It was the first conference match and we wanted it real bad.”
The Lobos lost all three doubles matches and headed into singles play down 1-0 after UNM’s Nikolina Grbac and Maria Sablina lost to twin sisters Marlena and Manuela Pietzuch.
“I really thought we had a good chance against them at home,” Cañada said. “We started a little slow in doubles, and we were not able to catch up.”
In singles play, the Broncos kept rolling as Boise State won five of its six individual matches. It was Oldani who found a way to top Boise State’s Brown with a score of 7-5, 6-4 and avoid a shutout.
“I’m happy I won, but at the same time I’m still upset because we lost to Boise State,” Oldani said.
Oldani won her third consecutive match this month, despite having a tough time on the court.
“It was a good fight,” Cañada said about Oldani’s match. “She didn’t play her greatest tennis, but you have to learn to win even when you are not on your game. She did exactly that.”
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Bezdickova lost to Sonia Klamczynska in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Susanna Kuuttila fell to Marlena Pietzuch 6-2, 6-4. Eggleston came up short, losing to Sandy Vo 7-5, 6-3. Katie Wookey lost to Basil 6-1, 6-4.
“We gave it a lot of heart and fought hard,” Kuuttila said. “It just was not there for a lot of us.”
On Sunday, the Lobos played their last home game of the season against Air Force. UNM lost to the Falcons 6-1 and are now 7-7 this season.
After losing the doubles point, UNM’s only point of the day came on the first court when Bezdickova beat Falcon Melissa Cecil 6-2, 6-0.
Cañada said despite the early losses in conference, his expectations haven’t changed, and said his team can finish in the top four in the conference.
“We need to pull a couple of upsets,” Cañada said. “It’s kind of playing from behind a little bit.”
