New Mexico State University Women’s Tennis competed this past weekend at the Wildcat Invitational in Abilene, Texas. Over the course of the three day invite, the Aggies managed to take home seven singles and two doubles wins.
The Aggies went head-to-head with host school Abilene Christian University while also taking on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, the University of Texas San Antonio’s Roadrunners, and the Tarlton State Riders.
From the jump, the Aggies made their presence known after dominating in two doubles matches and four singles. In doubles play, the powerhouse team of junior Lisa Zhu and sophomore Valeriia Ivanovskaia prevailed in both doubles matches against ACU’s Olivia Sears and Maria Cascos 8-4 and TSU’s Noelia Lorca and Elsa Boisson 8-5.
Sophomore Anna Pinaieva led off singles play for Aggies and defeated UTSA’s Vittoria Baccino 7-5 in the first set and 6-2 in the second. With the momentum on their side, the Aggies continued to dominate after Zhu overpowered TSU’s Noelia Lorca 6-3 in the first set and 6-2 in the second.
Senior Natsuki Nishimura brought in the Aggies third win of the night after a tough battle against UTSA’s Magda Tuells where she took the first set 7-5, lost in the second set, but rallied to take the third set 6-2. The fourth and final singles win came from sophomore Dora Kurdi who slaughtered ACU’s Hebe Toyos and took the first set 6-2 and the second 6-1.
On day two of the invitational, the Aggies played well but were unable to obtain the same level of success as day one. The dynamic duo Zhu and Ivanovskaia started it off for the Aggies and put up their best fight against TTU but fell to the Red Raiders pair Andreea Lila and Jermine Sherif. Hoping to retaliate, the Aggies’ Pinaieva and freshman Whitney Moon also gave their best effort but were unable to overcome UTSA’s Cassie McLay and Vittoria Baccino.
Kurdi recorded the only win of the day after a tight match against TSU’s Adeliya Mukhutdinova. Kurdi dropped the first set 6-7 but rebounded to take both the second and third sets 6-4 and 7-5. Nishimura and Zhu also had hard battles against their opponents but even after pushing into the third set for each, the Aggies could not secure another win.
Although the Aggies did not have any doubles on day three, they were still searching to add another win. Pinaieva brought home the first win of the day against Red Raider Jermine Sherif, in a complete knockout, Pinaieva won both sets one and two 6-1. After shutting down Wildcat Libby Blair, Nishimura clinched the Aggies second win after taking her first set 6-3 and her second set 6-4.
The Aggies now travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for the ITA Mountain Regional tournament, starting on Wednesday, Oct. 11 through Sunday, Oct. 15.
