LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The NM State women's tennis team suffered a 4-1 non-conference loss to Texas rival UTEP Sunday afternoon at the NM State Tennis Center.

DOUBLES
• For the second-straight match, the Aggies found themselves at an immediate disadvantage after not being able to field three full doubles teams. As a result, UTEP took an automatic win in flight three.
• Chloe Gavino and Bella Nguyen battled hard, but dropped the final two games to Vanessa Valdez and Lina Sachica on line two. The Miners' tandem secured a 7-5 win to pick up the doubles point.

SINGLES
• Not able to put a player on line six, the Aggies saw their deficit increase to 2-0 with the Miners' walkover victory there.
• Gavino helped NM State pull within a single point by putting forth a dominating effort in flight two action. The sophomore scored a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Erandi Martinez, cutting the Miners' lead to 2-1.
• Nguyen managed to win just five total games in her two-set bout with Veronika Lebisova on line five. The Aggies' deficit grew to 3-1 with Lebisova's 6-2, 6-3 win in that match.
• Miranda Bishard bounced back from a difficult start to force a third set with a 6-1 victory against Sachica on line three. UTEP's player, though, responded in a big way and finished off a three-set win by recording a 6-0 win in the deciding frame. That gave the Miners the win and ended the match.
• At the time of the conclusion of the non-conference tilt, both Challa and Kalaga were in the third set of their respective singles matches. Both Aggie player were ahead at the time of the stoppage, too.

COMING UP NEXT
• The final two WAC matches of the Aggies' regular season schedule are set to take place at the NM State Tennis Center. NM State hosts Chicago State and Grand Canyon this coming weekend and will begin its two-match WAC swing Friday morning at 9:00 with a matchup against the Cougars.

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