EL PASO, Texas – The No. 9 seed UTEP tennis team (9-8) will lock up with I-10 rival and No. 8 seed NM State (12-8) in the first round of the 2025 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships on the campus of Liberty at 8 a.m. MT/10 a.m. ET Wednesday. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, with the victor advancing to face top seed and No. 55 FIU at 11 a.m. MT/1 p.m. ET Thursday
 
"We always have tough battles with NM State and this match will not be any different," UTEP head coach Ivan Fernandez said. "We are ready for the challenge, and we will fight with all we have."
 
The Miners head into the championships having produced a winning record in the regular season for the first time in nine years. A victory would assure the first winning campaign (including postseason play) since the Orange and Blue forged a mark of 12-5 during the 2015 dual season.
 
UTEP is also aiming to pick up at least one win in consecutive CUSA Championships for the first time since joining the league (2005-06) and the initial occasion since the 1997 and 1998 WAC Championships. Last year, the Miners bested Sam Houston to lock up their initial triumph at the tournament since 2009.
 
The Miners have some momentum, having peeled off three straight victories down the stretch before going down swinging at LA Tech in the regular-season finale. UTEP's three-match winning streak was its first vs. DI opposition in four years.
 
Senior Carlotta Mencaglia sets the tone for the Orange and Blue with a dazzling 8-2 record at No. 1 singles. She has also been part of UTEP's No. 1 doubles squad in the spring. Paloma Hennicaux matches her with eight victories this spring, including standing 5-1 at No. 4 singles. Overall, Hennicaux boasts a squad-best 19-8 record in singles action. Valeria Carreño Torres sports five triumphs this spring, with all of them coming at No. 5 singles (5-2). Candice Bernier (4-4, 2-0, No. 3 singles), DeCora Antoine Hanna Telzynska and Wendy Zhang all have compiled three dual wins to round out the roster.
 
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