LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 9 seed UTEP tennis team was upended by No. 8 seed and I-10 rival NM State, 4-0, in the opening round of the 2025 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships on the campus of Liberty on Wednesday.
 
The Miners (9-9) dropped a hard-fought doubles point before the Aggies (13-8) did enough to hold off any rally attempts from the Orange and Blue in singles. UTEP concludes the campaign at 9-9 to secure its first season with a winning percentage of at least .500 since going 11-11 in 2016.
 
"I am so proud of this group. We had so many challenges, distractions, injuries, and such but they stayed tough and fought all semester for each other," UTEP head coach Ivan Fernandez said. "I can't say enough about our only senior, Lotti. She is a class act who played with heart and intensity every time she stepped on the court. It was an honor to coach this group this year and to finish 9-9 is more than I can ask from them."
 
NM State took the early lead in the match after UTEP came up shy in doubles action. Hanna Telzynska and DeCora Antoine were edged by Anna Pinaieva and Nadia Nemeth, 6-4, at No. 1 doubles. Candice Bernier and Paloma Hennicaux fell to Dora Kurdi and Whitney Moon, 6-1, at No. 3 doubles. The match at No. 2 doubles between Carlotta Mencaglia and Valeria Carreño Torres and Montana Parkinson-Lubold and Lisa Zhu was halted with the score knotted, 5-5, as the team point had been decided.
 
UTEP regrouped and looked to stage a comeback in singles, but it couldn't put it all together. Bernier was knocked off by Zhu, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 2 singles. Hennicaux was derailed by the identical score (6-3, 6-3) in her setback vs. Moon at No. 3 singles. Telzynska was derailed by Parkinson-Lubold, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 4 singles in the only other match that was completed with clinch format in place.
 
Wendy Zhang was on the cusp of a victory when things were stopped. She led Nemeth, 6-4, 5-4, at No. 6 singles. Carreño Torres was set to embark upon a third set against Kurdi at No. 5 singles, with the score standing 6-4, 4-6. It was a similar story at No. 1 singles, with the Mencaglia facing Pinaieva. The score was 4-6, 5-4, when the match was stopped.
 
The setback also marks the end of the career for UTEP's lone senior, Mencaglia. She piled up more than 100 combined victories between singles and doubles during her time in the Sun City. She was an All-CUSA performer with Telzynska in doubles last year, the first Miner duo to earn all-conference honors since 2001. She was also voted as the CUSA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week twice, which tie as the most by any Miner since UTEP joined the league in 2005-06.
 
New Mexico State 4, UTEP 0
Singles competition
1. Anna Pinaieva (NMSW) vs. Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
2. Lisa Zhu (NMSW) def. Candice Bernier (UTEP) 6-3, 6-3
3. Whitney Moon (NMSW) def. Paloma Hennicaux (UTEP) 6-3, 6-3
4. M Parkinson-Lubold (NMSW) def. Hanna Telzynska (UTEP) 7-5, 6-2
5. Dora Kurdi (NMSW) vs. V. Carreño Torres (UTEP) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
6. Nadia Nemeth (NMSW) vs. Wendy Zhang (UTEP) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Anna Pinaieva/Nadia Nemeth (NMSW) def. Hanna Telzynska/DeCora Antoine (UTEP) 6-4
2. M Parkinson-Lubold/Lisa Zhu (NMSW) vs. V. Carreño Torres/Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) 5-5, unfinished
3. Dora Kurdi/Whitney Moon (NMSW) def. Candice Bernier/Paloma Hennicaux (UTEP) 6-1
 
Match Notes:
UTEP 9-9
New Mexico State 13-8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,2,4)
Official: Bruce Harrison T-2:20
 
 
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