UTEP Miners

EL PASO, Texas- The UTEP tennis team took down a short-handed Tarleton State team 5-2 on Sunday at the El Paso Tennis and Swim Club.

The Miners got three wins in singles play and benefited from a slew of default wins to move to 4-4 on the season, while the TexAnns fell to 2-2.

"It was tough conditions, a tough situation and really we just didn't play as well as I expected that we would have," head coach Ivan Fernandez said. "The three freshmen (Alisa Morozova, Erandi Martinez and Chloe Purkiss) that were in the singles lineup fought super hard, I am proud of that, but we complicated the matches more than we needed to. We made too many mistakes that made the match a lot more stressful than it should have and a lot closer than it needed to be."

To start the morning, No. 21 Tarleton State won the doubles point after getting wins at the no. 1 and no. 2 spots. The Miners' Lois Wagenvoort and Raven Bennett were paired at the top spot against Alicia Barbaroux and Sherine Salem, and fell in a tight 6-4 match. Over on the next court, Milena Baigorria and Chloe Purkiss took on Shelby Fillingame and Neetika Sud, notching four points but slipped up against the TexAnns 6-4. Due to an incomplete lineup, the TexAnns forfeited play for the no. 3 spot.

Singles play began with the Miners leading 2-1 due to Tarleton State's forfeits at the no. 5 and no. 6 position. UTEP was without Wagenvoort, who plays the top spot in singles, as well as Maria Paula Medina, who plays primarily at the no. 4 position, which switched up the lineup. Bennett moved to the top position and faced off against Alicia Barbaroux, keeping pace in the first set but falling 6-4, 6-1. Alisa Morozova made quick work of the TexAnns' Shelby Fillingame, taking her out in mirrored sets of 6-3, 6-3. Sealing the match win for the Miners was Purkiss at the no. 3 position, taking out Sherine Salem 6-3 in the first stanza before slipping 6-3 in set two. That made for an exciting and decisive set three, which Purkiss triumphed to a 7-5 win.

In another marathon of a match, Erandi Martinez battled an evenly-matched opponent in Neetika Sud at the no. 2 spot, running away with the first set 6-3 before being edged in a tight 7-6 set two. In the third and final set, decided by a tie-breaker, Martinez notched her fifth dual-match singles win of the season after squeezing out a 7-6 set win.

The Miners will return to action on Friday, March 2, when they host Wyoming in the first of two scheduled matches that weekend. First serve against the Cowboys is slated for 2 p.m. MST.