BEAUMONT, Texas - Day one of the 2022 WAC Tournament saw NM State become the only higher-seeded team that didn't fall victim to an upset.
Thanks to another day of strong play, the Aggies made sure semifinal Saturday wouldn't feature any lower-seeded victories.
For the second time in as many days, NM State didn't have any trouble with the opposition as the second-seeded Aggies punched their ticket to the WAC Tournament championship match with a 4-0 shutout win over sixth-seeded Sam Houston in one of the two semifinal matches Saturday afternoon at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center.
DOUBLES
• With just four total team points separating themselves from a spot in the WAC Tournament championship match, the Aggies got right to work in doubles action. Chloe Gavino and Lisa Zhu continued their extraordinary play, posting their fourth-straight victory by way of a commanding 6-1 win over Megan Basson and Petra Kaszas in top-flight action.
• Once the Aggies' top doubles pairing had succeeded in hiking its 2022 record to 15-4, Miranda Bishard and Bella Nguyen finished the job. Down on line three, that NM State duo sewed up the doubles point by way of a 6-2 win against the Bearkats' Lusine Chobanyan and Sunskrithi Damera.
SINGLES
• NM State didn't let Sam Houston get any chances to grab control of things once singles play started. Gavi Kalaga collected her first WAC Tournament singles win of the weekend down on line four. Her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sahithi Vutukuru pushed the higher seed's lead to 2-0.
• A second WAC Tournament singles win came off the racquet of Nguyen to put NM State on the brink of a third-straight win. Nguyen came through with a 6-3, 6-4 win in her fifth-flight matchup against Damera to extend the Aggies' edge to 3-0.
• It was Natsuki Nishimura who finished off the Bearkats for good. The Aggies' junior battled back from an early deficit in the first frame and carried her strong play over to a dominant second set to earn a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Chobanyan on line three.
COMING UP NEXT
• With a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line, NM State gears up for championship Sunday. At 11:00 a.m. MT, the second-seeded Aggies will take on fifth-seeded Seattle U in the WAC Tournament title bout. It marks the third-straight appearance for NM State in the WAC Tournament championship match dating back to the spring of 2019.
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