DENTON, Texas - Another strong doubles outing by the tandem of Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu as well as a singles win by Zhu wasn't enough for the NM State women's tennis team to secure its first dual match win of the season as the Aggies dropped a 5-2 decision to North Texas Friday at the Waranch Family Tennis Center.

DOUBLES
• Harsha Challa and Natsuki Nishimura could not get a whole lot going on line one against Jasmine Adams and Lucie Devier, winning just a single game in their 6-1 setback.
• NM State used another strong outing from Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu in flight two to give it a chance at winning the doubles point. The Aggies' tandem hiked their spring record to 2-0 thanks to a 6-4 victory against Saki Oyama and Liisa Vehvilainen.
• With the doubles point coming down to flight three, Gavi Kalaga and Bella Nguyen found themselves going toe-to-toe with Kexuan Zhou and Maria Ponomareva down the stretch. Unfortunately, the Mean Green's twosome narrowly edged the Aggies' duo by a 7-6 (7-5) score to clinch the doubles point.

SINGLES
• Down 1-0 after doubles play, NM State's battled back in one-on-one play.
• Zhu played nearly flawless tennis in her flight four matchup with Ponomareva, posting a 6-0, 6-1 victory to knot the match at 1-1.
• North Texas retook the lead for good, however, after Kalaga suffered a 6-3, 6-1 setback to Zhou in fifth-flight action.
• Nguyen dropped a 6-3, 6-4 showdown with Vehvilainen on line six, putting the Aggies at a 3-1 disadvantage.
• The Mean Green clinched their third dual match win of the spring when Nishimura found herself on the wrong end of a 6-3, 6-2 score when facing Oyama.
• Electing to play the match out, NM State grabbed its only other win of the day when Challa came away with a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4) triumph over Adams in top-flight play.
• The sixth and final singles bout went to three sets, too. Unlike the other, though, it was North Texas coming up with the point as Gavino fell 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5) to Devier.

COMING UP NEXT
• NM State remains in the DFW metroplex to close out their two-match week. The Aggies are scheduled to meet up with UT Arlington Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. at the UTA Tennis Center.

++NM State++