University of Houston
New Mexico State
No. 71 Tennis Dismisses New Mexico State
3/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
March 31, 2006
LAS CRUCAS, N.M. - The No. 71 University of Houston tennis team opened its three-match road weekend with a 6-1 victory against New Mexico State Friday afternoon at the new NMSU Tennis Center.
It was the first match for the Aggies (10-5) in its new facility.
"We knew that New Mexico State was going to a tough match and be fired up opening its new facility," head coach John Severance said. "We couldn't take them lightly by any stretch of the imagination because their strong lineup from top to bottom. Our hard work and fitness is what won the match this afternoon."
The Cougars (15-3, 2-0 C-USA) picked up its 15th win of the season matching its regular season win total from a season ago and have won eight of last nine matches
Houston grabbed the doubles point taking the 1-0 lead as the pairs of Brianna Bateup and Vicky Simpson along with Kami Miller and Yolandi Terblanche notched victories.
Miller put the Cougars ahead 2-0 emerging with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles. The Glendale, Ariz. native is now three wins away from moving into No. 7 slot all-time in career singles victories.
Loli Gomez and Tiffany McLaughlin clinched the match for Houston with straight-set victories, while Sonja Nikolic and Bateup added a pair of hard-fought three set wins.
"We know how to win and we expect to win out there," Severance said. "You can't put a price tag on things like that. We have a team that is developing, and they believe that they are never out of matches."
The Cougars conclude the weekend by heading to El Paso to square off against two Conference USA foes. Houston matches up against UTEP Saturday before taking on No. 52 SMU Sunday at the El Paso Tennis Club. First serve against the Miners is slated for 1pm.
"Every match from here on out is important to us," Severance said. "We want to stay in the national rankings and earn a high seed in the conference tournament. These matches can take us two steps closer to reaching those goals."
No. 71 Houston 6, New Mexico State 1
Doubles
No. 1 - Mignot/van Beusekom (NMST) d. Nikolic/Gomez (UH) (8-6)
No. 2 - Miller/Terblanche (UH) d. Fintell/Du Fosse (NMST) (8-4)
No. 3 - Bateup/Simpson d. Zuniga/Fagegaltier (NMST) (8-6)
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
No. 1 - Bateup (UH) d. Mignot (NMST) (4-6, 6-3, 6-4)
No. 2 - Gomez (UH) d. van Beusekom (NMST) (6-3, 6-3)
No. 3 - Nikolic (UH) d. Fintell (NMST) (6-2, 4-6, 6-3)
No. 4 - Miller (UH) d. Fagegaltier (NMST) (6-3, 6-3)
No. 5 - Du Fosse (NMST) d. Simpson (UH) (7-6, 6-2)
No. 6 - McLaughlin d. Zuniga (NMST) (6-4, 6-3)
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 6, 5, 3, 1
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Players Mentioned
