WAC Tournament Central
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The NM State women's tennis team is bound for the WAC Tournament championship match.
Starting off the day with a dominant performance in doubles action, the second-seeded Aggies made quick work of third-seeded UTRGV, 4-1, in one of two WAC Women's Tennis Tournament semifinal matches Saturday afternoon at the NM State Tennis Center.
DOUBLES
• Not wasting any time, NM State made quick work of the Vaqueros in tandem action to take a lead it never relinquished. On the top line, Harsha Challa and Gavi Kalaga got things going by cruising to a 6-0 win over the Vaqueros' pairing of Isabelle Bahr and Katarina Sasaroga.
• Chloe Gavino and Bella Nguyen locked up the doubles point for the hosts by securing a 6-1 triumph over Lea Karren and Valeria Montero.
• Down on line three, Miranda Bishard and Kayla Fielder were locked in a tight battle with Sandra Putz and Ana Platisa. Their doubles bout was halted with UTRGV owning a slim 4-3 lead after the Aggies' first and second flight teams earned wins.
SINGLES
• UTRGV's lone point of the match came on line six of one-on-one action as Kayla Fielder fell to Sandra Putz by a 6-0, 6-1 tally.
• Shortly after the Vaqueros knotted things up, NM State regained control. Gavino, an All-WAC Second Team singles performer, pushed the Aggies ahead 2-1 thanks to a strong 6-1, 6-2 victory over Katarina Sasaroga in flight two action.
• Nguyen conjured up a straight-set win of her own in flight five action, putting the Aggies on the cusp of victory. Her 6-1, 6-3 win over Platisa hiked the hosts' lead to 3-1.
• After being unable to finish her doubles match, Bishard sealed the deal for her team in one-on-one action. It took three sets, but the Aggies' third-flight singles competitor put her team in the WAC Tournament championship match with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 triumph over Karren.
COMING UP NEXT
• The top two seeds in the 2021 WAC Women's Tennis Tournament - number-one Grand Canyon and number two NM State - will duke it out for the WAC Tournament crown Sunday morning. At 9:00 a.m. from the NM State Tennis Center, the Aggies and Lopes are set to battle in the WAC Tournament championship match.
++NM State++