UTEP tennis falls At BIG 12 foe Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas - The UTEP tennis team was upended at BIG 12 member Texas Tech, 7-0, Sunday afternoon.

It marked the second match in three days for the Miners (1-1), who had blasted Western New Mexico in their home opener on Jan. 20.

“We played them very tough today,” UTEP head coach Ivan Fernandez said. “We had match points at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles but could not close them out. In singles we competed well on many of the courts, but we were just out played. It was great to see us battle like this. If we can bring this kind of energy to every match, we can expect good things this spring.”

Action commenced in doubles, where the Red Raiders (3-0) staved off match points at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to secure the point and early lead in the contest. 

Eve Daniels and Carlotta Mencaglia were held off, 7-6 (8-6) in a back-and-forth match against Olivia Peet and Cristina Tiglea at No. 2 doubles. Thassane Abrahim and Veronika Lebisova had a chance to close out their match but went unfinished (6-6) at No. 1 doubles against Metka Komac and Avelina Sayfetdinova.

Elena Dibattista and Zuzanna Szczepanska were upended, 6-3, at No. 3 doubles by Arina Oreshchenkova and Camryn Stepp.

UTEP tried to turn things around in singles play, but despite playing with energy it was unable to stage a comeback. Mencaglia was clipped by Komac, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 2 singles. Szczepanska went down swinging to Tiglea, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 3 singles.

Lebisova was held off by Sayfetdinova, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 1 singles.

Abrahim was knocked off by Oreshchenkova, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 singles.

Dibattista was bested, 6-0, 6-3, by Camryn Stepp at No. 5 singles. Daniels was dropped by Andreea Lila, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6 singles.

UTEP will aim to put the setback at the Red Raiders in the rearview mirror when it plays host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11 a.m. MT Wednesday.

With a win, the Miners would move to 2-0 at home.

UTEP vs Texas Tech

1/22/2023 at Lubbock, Texas

(McLeod Tennis Center)

Texas Tech 7, UTEP 0

Singles competition

1. Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) def. Veronika Lebisova (UTEP) 6-2, 6-4

2. Metka Komac (TTU) def. Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) 6-3, 7-5

3. Cristina Tiglea (TTU) def. Zuzanna Szczepanska (UTEP) 6-4, 6-4

4. Arina Oreshchenkova (TTU) def. Thassane Abrahim (UTEP) 6-2, 6-4

5. Camryn Stepp (TTU) def. Elena Dibattista (UTEP) 6-0, 6-3

6. Andreea Lila (TTU) def. Eve Daniels (UTEP) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Metka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) vs. Thassane Abrahim/Veronika Lebisova (UTEP) 6-6 (2-0), unfinished

2. Olivia Peet/Cristina Tiglea (TTU) def. Eve Daniels/Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) 7-6 (8-6)

3. Arina Oreshchenkova/Camryn Stepp (TTU) def. Elena Dibattista/Zuzanna Szczepanska (UTEP) 6-3

Match Notes:

UTEP 1-2

Texas Tech 3-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,1,5,2,3)

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