MIAMI – Friday morning will mark a new beginning for the Aggie women's tennis program as they open the Conference USA Tournament at the FIU Tennis Courts in Miami. In the quarterfinal matchup, the seventh-seeded Aggies (5-14, 2-4 CUSA) will go head-to-head with second-seeded Liberty (15-5, 5-0 CUSA) with the match scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. MT.
FIRST SERVE
- NM State begins its postseason run after wrapping up the final weekend of play over the weekend with a Sunday match on the road at UTEP. During the final stretch, the Aggies also faced off with the same Liberty squad they will see on Friday.
- In the most recent match versus the Flames, Liberty came away with a 4-1 victory in Las Cruces as they earned the doubles point before claiming victories at No. 1 and No. 3. This also marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- NM State's quarterfinal contest will be one of the first two matches to be played on Friday as top-seeded FIU will also be playing its match versus the winner of Thursday's First Round matchup between No. 8 Sam Houston and No. 9 UTEP.
- Entering Friday, Anna Pinaieva leads the Aggies in singles wins – hoisting a 12-5 overall record, including a perfect 4-0 record in CUSA play. Lisa Zhu also makes her way to Miami with an undefeated singles record against league opponents as she is 5-0, including a pair of wins last weekend.
- In doubles action, the Aggies are led by the duo of Natsuki Nishimura and Valeriia Ivanovskaia who are 5-1 since first teaming up against Montana on March 23. This stretch also includes an impressive 3-1 record in conference play.
- Whitney Moon and Lisa Zhu have also recently formed a new Aggie tandem and have put together an 8-2 record while also being 3-1 in CUSA action.
- This weekend, the Aggies will be seeking the program's fourth tournament championship since 2015 after winning WAC Tournament titles in 2015, 2019 and 2022. This span also included a regular season title during the 2015-16 season.
- The Aggies and fellow CUSA counterparts will be looking to dethrone FIU who took home the 2023 tournament championship. Additionally, FIU is the lone institution in this year's bracket to have ever won the CUSA Tournament.
FOLLOW ALONG
Aggie supporters can follow along during the Aggies' tournament run via live stream
HERE or via live stats at
NMStateStats.com.
UP NEXT
With the single elimination format, NM State must win to keep its season alive. With a victory over the Flames, the Aggies would draw the winner of the matchup between No. 3 Jax State and No. 5 MTSU. This semifinal bout would be at 10 a.m. MT on Saturday, April 20.
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