LAS CRUCES – The NM State women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaker on Friday to Wyoming at the NMSU Tennis Center, 4-3. The match went wire-to-wire and needed to go to the third set of the sixth singles match.
 
With the match tied at 3-3, senior Ashvarya Shrivastav had a one set lead over her counterpart from Wyoming. However, Dorottya Jonas battled back and won the second set, 7-5, to force a third. After dropping the second set, Shrivastav couldn't halt Jonas' momentum in the deciding set and lost 6-1 as Wyoming clinched the 4-3 victory.
 
"We showed huge improvement today in focus and attitude," head coach Ivan Fernandez said. "We always want to be in a position to win and we did that today, it just didn't go our way."
 
The entire match was close the entire way, including the critical doubles point. After dropping the No. 1 doubles match, NM State's (2-5) duo of Rimpledeep Kaur and Shrivastav bounced Wyoming's pair 6-4. Lindsay Harlas and Chloe Jolliff, who have enjoyed success as of late at No. 3 doubles, weren't able to fend off the Cowgirls' team and fell 6-4.
 
After Wyoming (7-4) took a 2-0 lead, Kaur gave New Mexico State its first point of the afternoon when she downed Magdalena Stencel 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 singles slot. It was Kaur's first time this season playing at the top singles position.
 
"Rimpledeep played impressively in her first match at No. 1 singles," said Fernandez of his sophomore. "We had great wins from our seniors, Mia and Chloe, as well."
 
Jolliff knotted things up, 2-2, for the Aggies when she downed Wyoming's Elisa Koonik 6-2, 6-4 on court No. 4.
 
Soon after, Mia Brandt gave life to NM State and gave the Aggies the go-ahead point, 3-2, after the senior ousted Miranda Talbert in a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 win at the No. 6 singles slot.
 
Harlas, who played in the No. 5 slot for the first time this season, couldn't clinch the match for NM State and fell 6-3, 6-4 to the Cowgirls' Tessa van Der Ploeg – which set up the dual at No. 2 singles.
 
"If we can compete like this every time we go out on the court, we'll have a great season," Fernandez said.
 
NM State will get that chance once again on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it entertains Northern Arizona at the NMSU Tennis center.
 
Match #7
Wyoming 4, NM State 3
February 26, 2016
NMSU Tennis Center
Las Cruces, N.M.
 
Doubles

1. Stencel/Tokareva (WY) def. Castillo Lopez/Joyce (NMSU) – 6-1
2. Kaur/Shrivastav (NMSU) def. Koonik/van Der Ploeg (WY) – 6-4
3. Jonas/Tlabert (WY) def. Harlas/Jolliff (NMSU) – 6-4

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*
 
Singles

1. Rimpledeep Kaur (NMSU) def. Magdalena Stencel (WY) – 6-1, 6-3
2. Dorottya Jonas (WY) def. Ashvarya Shrivastav (NMSU) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. Nastya Tokareva (WY) def. Erika Castillo Lopez (NMSU) – 6-1, 6-2
4. Chloe Jolliff (NMSU) def. Elisa Koonik (WY) – 6-2, 6-4
5. Tessa van Der Ploeg (WY) def. Lindsay Harlas (NMSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Mia Brandt (NMSU) def. Miranda Talbert (WY) – 7-5, 7-5

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4, 6, 5, 2*