EL PASO - After suffering a 6-1 setback in the opening set, NM State junior Natsuki Nishimura dug deep and found the will to get the job done.
Nishimura won her third-flight singles bout by a 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 tally against UTEP's Lina Sachica to give the Aggies a hard-fought 4-3 triumph over their longtime Texas rivals Sunday at the El Paso Tennis Club.
Down 2-0 at one point, NM State used wins in four of five singles matches to secure its first dual match victory against the Miners since 2019.
DOUBLES
• Falling behind early, Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu suffered a rare doubles loss in top-flight action. The Aggies' tandem captured only a pair of games in a 6-2 setback against Thassane Abrahim and Veronika Lebisova.
• UTEP wrapped up the doubles point shortly thereafter after Miranda Bishard and Bella Nguyen found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-3 score in their third-flight fight with Elena Dibattista and Kathleen Percenoga.
SINGLES
• Lebisova hiked UTEP's lead to 2-0 following her 6-0, 6-3 win over Nguyen on line five, but that's when the Aggies started to battle back.
• Gavino grabbed hold of NM State's first point of the morning with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Percegona in top-flight action.
• Over on line two, Zhu evened things up at two apiece by scoring a 7-5, 6-2 win against Carlotta Mencaglia.
• Each of the final three singles matches in play were fraught with drama as each went to three sets. UTEP secured its final lead of the day when Gavi Kalaga dropped a narrow 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 decision to Dibattisa on line four.
• Needing a win to keep their chances at victory alive, the Aggies got one courtesy of Bishard in her toe-to-toe tilt with Abrahim on line six. After falling by the narrowest of margin's in the first set, Bishard bounced back in a big way and knotted matters at 3-3 by way of a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory.
• That put all eyes on Nishimura's back-and-forth battle against Sachica on line three. Once Nishimura's win was in the books, NM State had hiked its 2022 dual match mark to 6-13.
COMING UP NEXT
• With a WAC West Division title within their grasp, the Aggies travel to Phoenix, Ariz., next weekend for their final regular-season league tilts. NM State's first of two WAC showdowns is set for 2:00 p.m. MT Friday afternoon as it tangles with Seattle U at the GCU Tennis Facility.
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