Match Seven
NM State (1-5) vs. Utah State (1-4)
Saturday, March 6 | 3:00 p.m. | El Paso Swim and Tennis Club | El Paso, Texas
THE FIRST SERVE
• After securing its first triumph of 2021 last weekend, the NM State women's tennis team hopes to build on that success when it plays host to Utah State Saturday at 3:00 p.m. from the El Paso Swim and Tennis Club.
• The last time the two teams crossed paths came on Feb. 9, 2019, in Flagstaff, Ariz. That day, NM State started off strong by winning the doubles point and held off a late charge by Utah State to claim a 4-3 victory. Harsha Challa won her fourth-flight singles match in three sets while Chloe Gavino helped clinch the doubles point for NM State with a 6-3 win on line three of tandem play.
• Challa, Bella Nguyen are all riding three-match winning streaks in singles play while Gavi Kalaga has emerged as the victor in each of her last four singles tilts. For her efforts last week, Nguyen was named the WAC Women's Tennis Singles Athlete of the Week Monday morning. It was the first WAC award of Nguyen's collegiate career and marked the first WAC Singles Athlete of the Week laurel for the squad since Feb. 4, 2020, when Challa got her hands on the award.
• Kalaga currently tops the Aggies' singles win charts with a 4-1 record. Challa (3-2) and Nguyen (3-3) rank second on the team in singles victories.
• Half of the Aggies' four doubles victories thus far in 2021 have come courtesy of the tandem of Challa and Kalaga on the top line. That pair has posted a 2-2 showing this year.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• The Aggies head to the Sun City hoping to put an end to a four-match losing skid. Following a 7-0 victory over Dixie State to open its season on Friday, Jan. 29, Utah State has fell in its last four outings. Its matchup with NM State is the fourth of five consecutive non-home matches for the squad.
• Owners of a 12-18 (.400) cumulative showing in singles play throughout the year thus far, Utah State has seen Carolina Millan and Zara Ryan have the most success in one-on-one play from a wins and losses standpoint. Both have accumulated a trio of singles victories while playing on lines one and two respectively.
• Doubles play has seen Utah State compile a 5-10 (.333) mark through the team's first five showdowns of 2021. Two of those wins belong to the tandem of Renata Lombera and Gabrielle Dekkers who are the Aggies' top-flight doubles pairing.
COMING UP NEXT
• Once it finishes up against the Aggies Saturday in El Paso, NM State doesn't have another match on its docket until Monday, March 15. That day, NM State will be in Phoenix, Ariz., for a non-conference matchup with Colorado State.
++NM State++
