NORMAN, Okla. - Facing off against one of the nation's best teams, the NM State women's tennis team dropped both ends of a doubleheader at eighth-ranked Oklahoma, falling 7-0 in the first match and 5-0 in the second showdown Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
MATCH ONE | #8 Oklahoma 7, NM State 0
DOUBLES
• The eighth-ranked Sooners let up just four total games across the three doubles bouts in order to take an early 1-0 lead.
• Gavi Kalaga and Bella Nguyen kept pace with Emma Staker and Anchisa Chanta in flight three action, but the Sooners' tandem pulled away down the stretch for a 6-3 win.
• Chloe Gavino and Natsuki Nishimura dropped a 6-1 decision on line two while Harsha Challa and Lisa Zhu were shut out in a 6-0 defeat on the top line.
SINGLES
• Kalaga put forth an exceptionally strong opening set in her third-flight battle with 83rd-ranked Ivana Corley in one-on-one action. Kalaga battled hard in the opening set in her 6-4, 6-0 loss against one of the nation's top-100 players.
• Gavino slid into top-flight action for the first time this season and faced off against 105th-ranked Carmen Corley. The Tuscon, Ariz., product won three games against Corley in her 6-2, 6-1 loss.
• Georgia Townsend grabbed a pair of games from Alexandra Pisareva on line four in her 6-1, 6-1 defeat while Miranda Bishard claimed one game during a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Marcelina Podlinska in flight six play.
• Nishimura faced the toughest test of the day as she was pitted against 16th-ranked Layne Sleeth on line two. NM State's junior fell 6-0, 6-0 as the Sooners completed their shutout win.
MATCH TWO | #8 Oklahoma 7, NM State 0
DOUBLES
• Challa joined forces with Gavino on the top line for the first time in 2022, but that duo was doubled up by Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley by a 6-3 tally.
• Kalaga and Nishimura (flight two) and the combo of Nguyen and Georgia Townsend (flight three) dropped identical 6-1 decisions as Oklahoma walked away with the doubles point once again.
SINGLES
• With the teams electing to play the second match to clinch, two of the match's singles bouts went unfinished.
• Townsend fell by a 6-2, 6-1 tally to 101st-ranked Emma Staker in flight five play while Nishimura won a pair of games in her 6-2, 6-0 loss to Anchisa Chanta on line three.
• Kalaga (line four) and Nguyen (line six) both dropped 6-1, 6-1 matches as the Sooners wrapped up their second win of the day.
• At the time the match was clinched, Gavino was in a hotly-contested second set against 83rd-ranked Ivan Corley. After falling 6-0 in the opening set, Gavino was in the midst of trying to force a third set but the match went unfinished with NM State's competitor down 5-4 in the second set.
• Challa went toe-to-toe with 105th-ranked Carmen Corley in top-flight action, too, but her match went unfinished as well. NM State's senior fell in the opening set by a 6-4 tally and was down 2-1 in the second at the time the match was called.
COMING UP NEXT
• Two in-state rivals are set to collide in The Duke City Saturday afternoon when NM State makes the trip up I-25 for a non-conference showdown at New Mexico. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m.
++NM State++
