The New Mexico women’s tennis team earned their first victory of the season by defeating The University of Colorado on Friday night.
Kelcy McKenna’s tenure as head coach began with a victory as UNM defeated Colorado 5-2. She took over the team this past July and seemed to have the Lobos ready for spring competition.
“What a great match. Colorado fought the whole time,” she said. “I was really proud of our girls and the way they competed from start to finish today.”
McKenna said she knew Colorado was going to be a really tough matchup, but was very impressed with the level the team was playing at in the first match of the season.
The season started with doubles competition and UNM doubles partners Rachana Bhat and Dominique Dulski made quick work of Colorado’s Tina Bokhua and Alex Aiello, winning 6-2 to earn the first match victory of the season for the Lobos.
Dulski said playing at home was huge for the team, and it helped suppress some of the nervousness that comes with starting a new season. She also said that despite some of the team being new, their closeness played a big role as well.
“I’m so blessed to be on a team that all loves each other,” Dulski said. “I just think that really helps us compete so much better. We’re all conscious of staying positive.”
Newcomers and doubles partners Ruth Copas and Andrea Leblanc were able to get break points in key moments of their match against Colorado’s Kyra Wojcik and Annabelle Andrinopoulos 6-3 to earn the second victory and secure the point awarded for winning doubles competition.
By winning the doubles point in that match, play in the third match between UNM’s Emily Olivier and Ludivine Burguiere against Nuria Ormeño Ruiz and Jeannez Daniel was stopped.
Dulski picked up the first set in singles play for the Lobos, besting Adrinopoulos 6-2, 6-2. However the Buffalos responded by winning the next two singles matches in straight sets to pull even at two points apiece.
With three matches left to be played Bhat put the Lobos back on top. Although she had trouble closing out her first set after building a large lead, she eventually won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
The next two matches were tight, with the Lobos jumping out to early leads, winning the first set in both matches, but allowing Colorado to climb back and even things up to force a third set. Burguiere lost the second set of her match in a thrilling tiebreaker which was extended to 13-15 because the set needed to be won by 2 points.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Copas jumped out to an early lead in the third set of her singles match, but was in danger of her opponent pulling even with her again late in the match. Instead she dropped a high arcing volley that her opponent could not return on a no advantage game point that put her up 5-3. She ended up defeating Daniel 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
“I was 40-love down (in that game) and managed to get it back to deuce and hit that winning volley,” Copas said. “I’m not even amazing at volleys so it was really nice to be able to get that.”
Although Copas garnered the final necessary point for UNM to earn a team victory, Burguiere’s match ended almost simultaneously and counted toward the final score. Burguiere defeated Wojcik 6-2, 6-7 (13-15), 7-5.
The team will continue its season at home next weekend as they host Southern Illinois and Northern Arizona on Saturday and Sunday. The event is scheduled to take place at the Linda Estes Tennis Center.
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.
