WAC Tournament Semifinals | WAC Tournament Central
#2 NM State (5-13) vs. #3 UTRGV (5-16)
Saturday, May 1 | 9:00 a.m. | NM State Tennis Center | Las Cruces, N.M.
THE FIRST SERVE
• Saturday morning, the postseason run begins for the NM State women's tennis team as the second-seeded Aggies take on third-seeded UTRGV at 9:00 a.m. from the NM State Tennis Center. NM State is serving as the host institution for the 2021 WAC Women's Tennis Tournament.
• The Aggies have won two WAC Tournament titles in the history of their program. NM State's last league tournament crown came in 2019 while its first title came in 2015. All-time, the Aggies possess a 10-12 (.455) record in WAC Tournament matches.
• NM State last hosted the WAC Tournament in 2017. That year, the second-seeded Aggies moved on to the championship match with a 4-1 win over UTRGV and fell 4-1 to top-seeded Kansas City.
• Saturday's showdown is the fourth all-time matchup between NM State and UTRGV in the WAC Tournament. The Aggies are 2-1 against the Vaqueros in WAC Tournament play.
• Earlier this season, NM State secured a 5-2 triumph over UTRGV in St. George, Utah. The Aggies used singles wins from Miranda Bishard, Harsha Challa, Chloe Gavino and Gavi Kalaga to help them get the job done.
• Thursday morning, the WAC announced its list of All-WAC award winners. Challa and Gavino were chosen as All-WAC Second Team singles performers while Kalaga locked up an All-WAC Honorable Mention award.
• Kalaga enters WAC Tournament play as the Aggies' leader in singles wins. Her 10-6 mark in one-on-one action features a 4-2 showing against league competition and. Challa and Gavino have each won eight singles bouts while each of them have also posted 4-2 records against WAC adversaries.
• Bishard is the fourth Aggie who went 4-2 when pitted against WAC foes in regular season action. All told, NM State put up a 20-15 (.571) mark in WAC singles play.
• Of the Aggies' 14 doubles wins, eight of them have gone to the top-line pairing of Challa and Kalaga. They are 8-6 overall and 4-2 against WAC doubles teams this season. Bishard and Lucija Josipovic won an additional four doubles bouts for NM State including three against WAC foes.
SCOUTING UTRGV | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• On a four-match losing skid, UTRGV hopes to end that streak against the Aggies Saturday morning. Before their four-match losing streak started on March 29, the Vaqueros had won back-to-back WAC matches against Seattle U and Dixie State.
• Lea Karren and Sandra Putz reign as the Vaqueros' best singles players against WAC competition. Both put up marks of 4-1 in their league singles bouts while Karren possesses a team-best 9-3 mark in one-on-one action.
• Putz and Isabelle Bahr have both amassed six singles victories, too.
• Bahr makes up one half of the Vaqueros' best doubles team alongside teammate Katarina Sasaroga. They have constructed a 9-5 record in tandem play which featured a team-best 4-2 showing against WAC doubles duos.
• Lea and Valeria Montero have captured another seven of the Vaqueros' 25 doubles victories and split their four WAC doubles tilts.
COMING UP NEXT
• Should they Aggies take down the Vaqueros in their semifinal bout, they would move on to the 2021 WAC Tournament championship match. That showdown would begin at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning at the NM State Tennis Center.
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