April 24, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas - The sixth-seeded San Diego State women's tennis team saw its season come to end Thursday morning after it dropped a 4-2 decision to the No. 3 seed and 49th-ranked New Mexico in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championships.

New Mexico jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after recording a pair of 8-6 victories in doubles action. The Lobo duo of Emma Hayman and Victoria Tessmar first dispatched Ester Cadua and Kathryn Kitts at No. 3 with the other two matches still hanging in the balance. UNM, however, clinched the point at No. 1 after Ola Abou-Zekry and Lucy Scott defeated SDSU's top tandem of Eliska Krausova and Julia Trunk at the top of the order. With the point already decided, the third match at No. 2 was abandoned with the Aztecs' Sisse Nielsen and Holly Bagshaw leading their counterparts, 7-6.

As the contest moved into singles, New Mexico earned its second point of the morning following Scott's 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Krausova at third singles. At No. 4, Cadua won her first set over Hayman, 6-4, but was trailing 1-4 in the second before being forced to retire due to injury giving UNM a 3-0 cushion.

The Aztecs made things interesting as the day moved forward as Bagshaw dented the scoreboard for San Diego State with her 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Abou-Zekry at No. 1. Later, Milana Yusupov extended her team-best winning streak to seven matches after she won a three-set battle over Jennifer Ryba, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, at No. 5 to cut SDSU's deficit to 3-2.

With two matches remaining and both in a third set, New Mexico's Maria Sotirchos overcame a second-set loss to pull out the 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Nielsen at No. 6 to give the Lobos their fourth and match-clinching point. The abandoned match between Trunk and Mackenzie White at No. 2 was stopped with the score reading 4-6, 6-4, 1-1.

The Aztecs close 2008 with an 11-13 overall record, while the Lobos advance to the semifinals and improve to 15-8.

MWC Women's Tennis Championships
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center (Fort Worth, Texas)

(3)New Mexico 4, (6)San Diego State 2
Doubles
1. Abou-Zekry/Scott (UNM) def. Krausova/Trunk (SDSU), 8-6
2. Nielsen/Bagshaw (SDSU) def. White/Ryba (UNM), 7-6 unf.
3. Hayman/Tessman (UNM) def. Cadua/Kitts (SDSU), 8-6
New Mexico wins doubles point

Singles
1. Holly Bagshaw (SDSU) def. Ola Abou-Zekry (UNM), 0-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. Julia Trunk (SDSU) vs. Mackenzie White (UNM), 4-6, 6-4, 1-1
3. Lucy Scott (UNM) def. Eliska Krasuova (SDSU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Emma Hayman (UNM) def. Esther Cadua (SDSU), 4-6, 4-1, ret. Inj.
5. Milana Yusupov (SDSU) def. Jennifer Ryba (UNM), 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
6. Maria Sotirchos (UNM) def. Sisse Nielsen (SDSU), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1*
Singles: 3, 4, 1, 5, 6*
* Match clinching point