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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The UTEP tennis team fell in a pair of matches on Saturday. The Miners were knocked off at UNLV, 4-0, Saturday morning before falling in a heartbreaker to Youngstown State, 4-3, in a neutral-site contest Saturday afternoon. Both matches were contested in clinch format due to the action-packed day, but the contest against the Penguins went its entirety.
A recap of each match follows below.
at UNLV 4, UTEP 0
The UTEP tennis team was dispatched at UNLV, 4-0, Saturday morning. The doubles pairing of
Vanessa Valdez and Yvette Van Oijen picked up a win at the No. 2 position to highlight the action for the Miners (1-4) against the Rebels (3-2).
"It was great effort this morning," UTEP head coach
Ivan Fernandez said. "We played with a lot of energy. We had chances again in the doubles. At No. 2 doubles Vane (
Vanessa Valdez) and Yvette (Van Oijen) played some of their best doubles today. We were very competitive in many of the singles, taking them to three sets. Kirsten (Prelle) was on a roll going into the third set at No. 1 vs a nationally-ranked player. I'm very proud of the girls. We need to come out fighting this afternoon but we are ready to go."
Valdez and Van Oijen took down Connie Li and Izumi Asano, 6-4, at the second slot. UNLV was able to come away with the doubles point though as result of wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. UTEP's freshmen tandem of
Kirsten Prelle and
Kathleen Percegona was upended by Aiwen Zhu and En-Pei Huang, 6-3, at the top slot.
Erandi Martinez and
Rine Nozaki battled but fell, 6-4, at No. 3 at the hands of Alex Kalachova and Samantha Li.
Following the brief reprieve, singles play took center stage. Valdez started strong by taking the first set against #118 Asano, 6-4, at No. 3 singles. She dropped the final two sets, though, by identical scores of 6-1. Nozaki was upended at No. 4 singles by Huang, 6-1, 6-2, while
Milena Baigorria fell at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, to Samantha Li.
Prelle's showdown with #81 Zhu at No. 1 singles was halted in the third set, with the freshman holding a 1-0 lead in the decisive set. She had lost the first set, 6-2, but bounced back to take the second set, 6-4. Martinez's match with Anna Bogoslavets at No. 2 singles was stopped with the Rebel player up, 6-4, 4-3. Percegona's match with Connie Li at No. 5 singles also went unfinished. The freshman had rolled in the opening set, 6-1, before falling, 6-3, in the second set. It was tied, 2-2, in the third set when it stopped.
UTEP at UNLV
2/9/2019 at
UNLV 4, UTEP 0
Singles competition
1. #81 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) vs.
Kirsten Prelle (UTEP) 6-2, 4-6, 0-1, unfinished
2. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) vs.
Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
3. #118 Izumi Asano (UNLV) def.
Vanessa Valdez (UTEP) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def.
Rine Nozaki (UTEP) 6-1, 6-2
5. Connie Li (UNLV) vs.
Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) 1-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
6. Samantha Li (UNLV) def.
Milena Baigorria (UTEP) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def.
Kirsten Prelle/
Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) 6-3
2.
Vanessa Valdez/Yvette Van Oijen (UTEP) def. Connie Li/Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-4
3. Alex Kalachova/Samantha Li (UNLV) def.
Erandi Martinez/
Rine Nozaki (UTEP) 6-4
Match Notes:
UTEP 1-4
UNLV 3-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,3)
Youngstown State 4, UTEP 3
The UTEP tennis team won the doubles point for the first time since the season opener while also getting singles wins from
Kirsten Prelle and
Rine Nozaki but it wasn't enough in a narrow 4-3 setback to Youngstown State Saturday afternoon.
"This was a heart breaker," UTEP head coach
Ivan Fernandez said. "It was a great start by winning No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Kirsten (Prelle) and Rine (Nozaki) won convincingly in the singles. But we couldn't get another one. We fought super hard until the last point. This was a painful lesson to learn, but one that will make us stronger. I'm proud of our effort."
Prelle and
Kathleen Percegona drilled Elvira Esteo and Lucia Zagar, 6-0, at No. 2 singles. The Penguins pulled even with Cassandra Moraleja and Claudia Barboza knocking off Nozaki and
Erandi Martinez, 6-1, at No. 3 doubles. UTEP secured the doubles point, though, with
Vanessa Valdez and Yvette Van Oijen earning a hard-fought win at No. 1 singles, 6-4.
Prelle was in top form at No. 1 singles, blasting past Teufl, 6-2, 6-1. Barboza got one for the Penguins with Van Oijen falling, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 6 singles. Nozaki took down Zagar, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 5 singles to put the Miners on the brink of the team triumph.
YSU would rally, however, picking up wins at No. 4, No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Percegona took the first set, 6-2, against Esteo at No. 4 only to fall, 6-4, 6-1, in the final two sets. It was a similar situation for Martinez at No. 2 singles, as she won the opening set, 6-3, against Khamassi. She fell in the final two sets, 6-4, 6-4. Moraleja took the opening set against Valdez, 6-3, at No. 3 singles, but the Miner regrouped to win the second set, 6-4. The final set went the way of the Penguins, 6-4, to complete the rally.
UTEP will return to the practice courts in preparation of a three-match homestand the weekend of Feb. 22. The Miners will play host to UTSA (Feb. 22), the University of Central Oklahoma (Feb. 23) and Utah State (Feb. 24).
Youngstown State vs UTEP
2/9/2019 at Las Vegas, Nev.
Youngstown State 4, UTEP 3
Singles competition
1.
Kirsten Prelle (UTEP) def. Tamara Teufl (YSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Lisa Khamassi (YSU) def.
Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Cassandra Moraleja (YSU) def.
Vanessa Valdez (UTEP) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
4. Elvira Esteo (YSU) def.
Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
5.
Rine Nozaki (UTEP) def. Lucia Zagar (YSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Claudia Barboza (YSU) def. Yvette Van Oijen (UTEP) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1.
Vanessa Valdez/Yvette Van Oijen (UTEP) def. Tamara Teufl/Lisa Khamassi (YSU) 6-4
2.
Kirsten Prelle/
Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) def. Elvira Esteo/Lucia Zagar (YSU) 6-0
3. Cassandra Moraleja/Claudia Barboza (YSU) def.
Rine Nozaki/
Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 6-1
Match Notes:
Youngstown State 3-5
UTEP 1-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,5,4,2,3)
