Tennis Picks Up Home Win over NMSU

Friday, January 28

Denton

2 P.M. CT

University of North Texas

New Mexico State

1/28/2022 6:02:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

DENTON – UNT Tennis improved to 3-0 with a 5-2 win over New Mexico State Friday at the Waranch Tennis Complex. Battling the cool temperatures and wind, UNT jumped out to the quick advantage after taking the doubles point, then sprinted to a decisive victory with a 6-3, 6-2 winner from sophomore Saki Oyama on the third line.

DOUBLES

UNT picked up an early lead on court one with Lucie Devier and Jasmine Adams winning in dominant fashion, 6-1.
North Texas' duo of Liisa Vehvilainen and Oyama came up short in a well-fought match to New Mexico State's Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu, 4-6.
In a wild, tie-breaking game on court three, Mean Green partners Maria Ponomareva and Kexuan Zhou outlasted their Aggie counterparts 7-6 (7-5) and secured the doubles point for UNT.

SINGLES

At court four, New Mexico State's Lisa Zhu tied the match at 1-1 with a straight-set victory (6-0, 6-1) over Ponomareva.
Zhou overpowered NMSU's Gavi Kalaga for a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 as the Mean Green grabbed back the lead, 2-1.
At six, Lehvilainen withstood furious charges from Bella Nguyen for a third UNT point, 6-3, 6-4, setting the stage for a clincher at No. 3.
Oyama then rebounded from the doubles loss and clenched the match with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over Natsuki Nishimura.
Playing out the match, UNT battled through two more tiebreakers as Devier downed Aggie Chloe Gavino 5-7, 6-3 (10-5) and Adams fell 6-3, 4-6 (4-10) in her match with Harsha Challa.

QUOTABLE

"I didn't feel good after doubles, but I wanted to find a way to hit longer," junior Kexuan Zhou said. "Eventually, I found my game and a way to beat her, the second set was much easier."

COMING UP NEXT

UNT is slated to host Lamar on Sunday, January 30at noon CT before hitting the road next week

UNT 5, NMSU 2
Doubles
1. Adams/Devier (UNT) def. Challa/Nishimura (NMSU): 6-1
2. Gavino/Zhu (NMSU) def. Oyama/Vehvilainen (UNT): 6-4
3. Zhou/Ponomareva (UNT) def. Kalaga/Nguyen (NMSU): 7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)

Singles
1. Challa (NMSU) def. Adams (UNT): 3-6, 6-4 (10-4)
2. Devier (UNT) def. Gavino (NMSU): 5-7, 6-3 (10-5)
3. Oyama (UNT) def. Nishimura (NMSU): 6-3, 6-2
4. Zhu (NMSU) def. Ponomareva (UNT): 6-0, 6-1
5. Zhou (UNT) def. Kalaga (NMSU): 6-3, 6-1
6. Vehvilainen (UNT) def. Nguyen (NMSU): 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: (4, 5, 6, 3, 1, 2)