The Western New Mexico University women’s tennis team opened their fall slate this past weekend at the Aggie Invitational.
Ashley Newell played in the Acoma bracket and dropped her first match to Santos from UTEP, 6-2, 6-1. In the consolation bracket she went against Elward from Tarleton State and fell, 6-1 and then came close in the second set, 7-5. In her final match she went against Morgan from Arizona Christian and fell, 6-0, 6-1.
Gemma Goodland, in her first matches as a Lady Mustang competed in the Zia bracket. She opened against Shrivastava from New Mexico State and fell, 6-1, 6-2. In the consolation bracket she went against Jackson from Grand Canyon and fell after winning three games in the first set, 6-3, 6-0.
In the Sandia bracket, both Tiffany Newell and Claudia Osuna competed in that bracket. Tiffany Newell played a tough first match against Tench from UTEP, as she dropped the first set, 5-7, and then came back with a 6-4 second set win, before falling in the decisive third, 6-4. In the consolation side of the bracket she went against Finningame from Tarleton State. She trailed in the first set, 4-2, before retiring in the match. She then had to win against Marcenco from Arizona Christian to stay alive and she did just that. After dropping a tough opening set, 5-7, she came back strong to take the next two sets, 6-3, and 6-4. She then faced Hekgstrand from Grand Canyon to conclude the weekend and fell in straight sets after a close first set, 7-5, 6-1.
Osuna opened against Wagenvoort from UTEP and lost, 6-1, 6-1. In the consolation side of the bracket she faced off against LeBlanc from the University of New Mexico and lost in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. She then went against LeBlanc from UNM and lost, 6-1, 6-0. She came through against Okano from the University of Arizona winning that match before falling to Marcenco from Arizona Christian, 6-2, 6-2.
Diamond Morrill and Audrey Spencer competed in the Isleta bracket. Morrill opened against Rinaldi from Grand Canyon and was defeated, 6-1, 6-0. In the consolation bracket she faced off against ZakZak from Arizona Christian and came close, pushing each set to the limit falling 7-6 and 6-4. She faced another player from Arizona Christian in Garcia in her next match and came through with a solid 6-3, 7-5 victory. She closed the weekend out against Sullins from Arizona and lost, 6-4, 6-4. Spencer, playing in her first matches as a Lady Mustang nearly claimed her first match against Joyce from New Mexico State, as she dropped the first set, 1-6, but then came back strong with a 6-2 second set win before falling in three, 2-6. In the consolation bracket she went against Medina from UTEP and fell, 6-2, 6-0. She then closed the weekend strong with a pair of wins as she defeated Sullins from Arizona Christian, 6-1, 6-3 and then defeated Garcia from Arizona Christian, 6-3, 6-1.
In doubles play, Morrill and Tiffany Newell opened against Shrivastava/Kaur from New Mexico State and fell, 6-0. In the consolation bracket, they claimed a couple of points before falling 6-2 against Visscher/Wagenvoort from UTEP. Goodland/Ashley Newell also played in the same bracket and opened against LeBlanc/Dulski from UNM and came close before falling, 6-4. They then faced Okano/Marcenco from Arizona Christian and lost, 6-2. After falling in their next match to Jolliff/Joyce from New Mexico State, 6-3, they came back to finish the weekend strong with a 7-5 win against Jackson/Morgan from Arizona Christian.
In the other doubles bracket, Osuna and Spencer opened against Brandt/Thiffault from New Mexico State and fell, 6-2. In the consolation bracket they responded strong with a 6-1 win against Fillingame/Richarme from Tarleton State. In the consolation final, they were able to claim the title with a solid 6-4 win against Medina/Tench from UTEP.