LAS VEGAS - Three singles matches went to three sets, but the NM State women's tennis team was unable to finish off any of them as the Aggies dropped a 7-0 matchup with UNLV Friday morning at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
DOUBLES
• Hoping to keep their perfect doubles record intact, Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu lined up against UNLV's tandem of Molly Helgesson and Zita Kovacs in top-flight action. Though the Aggies' number-one pairing did keep things close, it lost a narrow 6-4 decision to Helgesson and Kovacs.
• Miranda Bishard and Bella Nguyen teamed up on line three and were neck-and-neck the entire match there. UNLV's duo of Aura Fang and CoCo Zhao locked up the doubles point for the host institution by a 7-5 tally.
• Trailing Izumi Asano and Cindy Hu by just a single game (5-4), Gavi Kalaga and Natsuki Nishimura saw their flight two battle halted after UNLV clinched things down on line three.
SINGLES
• Melissa Cartis dropped her second singles match of the 2022 campaign on line six, suffering a 6-2, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Zhao.
• UNLV's lead grew to 3-0 following Nguyen's fifth-flight tilt against Salsa Aher. Nguyen was denied her first singles victory of 2022 as Aher posted a 6-3, 6-2 win.
• Gavino and Helgesson were locked in a tight battle up in top-flight play. NM State's top-line player from Tucson, Ariz., narrowly fell by a 7-6 (7-3) tally in the opening set before Helgesson went on to clinch the win for the hosts by way of a 6-3 score in the second set.
• Zhu came out swinging on line two against Kovacs, shutting out her Runnin' Rebel counterpart by a 6-0 tally in the opening set. Kovacs regrouped, though, and claimed wins of 6-1 and 6-0 in the final two sets to keep the hosts' chances at a shutout win alive.
• Like Zhu, Kalaga enjoyed some early success in her singles bout against Hu. Kalaga claimed a 6-3 win in set one to take an early lead, but Hu battled back to win the match with wins of 6-2 and 6-1 in the last two sets.
• The Aggies' third three-set single match came on line three where Nishimura forced a decisive third set by way of a 6-4 triumph in the middle frame. Unfortunately, Asano walked away with a 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) win to prevent Nishimura from grabbing her first singles win as an Aggie.
COMING UP NEXT
• NM State's next chance for its first dual match win of 2022 comes Saturday morning at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. At 11:00 a.m. MT, the Aggies are scheduled to take on WCC foe Portland in another non-conference bout.
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