Tennis Beats UTEP 7-0

DENTON -- On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the Mean Green women's tennis team rolled to a big 7-0 victory over Conference USA opponent UTEP.

The win was the Mean Green's (7-2) second over a conference opponent this weekend and has the team feeling good about where they are halfway through the season.

"We're really happy with how we performed this week," said senior Haruka Sasaki. "We are playing so well at home and playing as a team. Even though it's getting tougher mentally and physically tougher since we're getting later into the season, us being such a close team has really helped us fight through and perform well."

On Sunday, Sasaki bounced back from a long singles match on Friday in the cold to beat her UTEP (2-6) opponent in straight sets at No. 6.

"I have a lot more confidence this year," Sasaki said. "We have a lot of depth on this team and we know whoever is playing anywhere on the court has a chance to win. I'm really happy with how we are playing right now."

Even though UNT came away with a 4-3 win on Friday versus LA Tech, the Mean Green showed great improvement and more dominance on Sunday. All six of the singles matches were won by UNT in straight sets and the coaches and team were proud with their ability to make adjustments on the fly.

Junior Nidhi Surapaneni and sophomore Maria Ponomareva had a perfect week in singles.

"We took care of business this week," Sasaki said. "We played well off one another and when one person was doing well we all felt it and it helped. It's what's going to take us far."

Riding a two-match winning streak, the Mean Green will hit the road next week as they travel to Huntington, West Virginia, to face two more league opponents. They'll first play Marshall on Friday and then face FIU on Saturday for a neutral site match. The Mean Green beat the Panthers in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament last year, 4-3. FIU was the defending champs from the season prior.

RESULTS
1. HECZEY, Alexandra (UNT) def. Lina Sachica (UTEP) 6-3, 7-5
2. PONOMAREVA, Maria (UNT) def. Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 6-0, 6-3
3. SURAPANENI, Nidhi (UNT) def. Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) 6-3, 6-1
4. HUMMEL, Sophia (UNT) def. Thassane Abrahim (UTEP) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
5. ZHOU, Kexuan (UNT) def. Maria Aveiga (UTEP) 7-6, 6-1
6. SASAKI, Haruka (UNT) def. Elena DiBattista (UTEP) 7-5, 6-4

1. BADWY, Hala Khaled/HECZEY, Alexandra (UNT) def. Kathleen Percegona/Maria Aveiga (UTEP) 6-4
2. PONOMAREVA, Maria/SURAPANENI, Nidhi (UNT) vs. Lina Sachica/Eve Daniels (UTEP) 5-2, unfinished
3. HUMMEL, Sophia/ZHOU, Kexuan (UNT) def. Erandi Martinez/Thassane Abrahim (UTEP) 6-1

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Maria Ponomareva

Haruka Sasaki

Nidhi Surapaneni

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