LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Anteaters dropped 4-1 on the road at New Mexico State in a well-fought match Saturday morning.
 
In the clinch-clinch match, the Aggies (10-5) duo of Dora Kurdi and Whitney Moon claimed the first doubles point with a 6-3 win over Maily Huynh and Nour Khayat on court three. The pairing of Carolyna Fowler and Yen Nhi Huynh saw themselves down 5-3 in their match against NMSU's No. 2's Montana Parkinson-Lubold and Lisa Zhu before evening it up to 5-all. The Aggies duo prevailed, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point. The match on court one ended knotted up 5-5.
 
NMSU continued to push ahead with two straight singles wins at No. 6 and No. 5 to take a 3-0 advantage in the match. Over at the No. 3 position, Y. Huynh dropped her first set 6-2 before coming out on top in the second 6-4 to force a deciding third set. The freshman dominated, 6-2, to earn UC Irvine their lone point of the match to move to 3-1.
 
At the No. 1 spot, Carolyna Fowler was battling hard with Lisa Zhu, forcing extra points in the first set before being edged out 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 as the Aggies took the 4-1 win. The matches on courts two and four were left unfinished, but were both headed to a third game.
 
FROM HEAD COACH ELIZABETH FERRIS SMITH
"Court 1 doubles was down 5-3 and found their belief to bring it back to 5-5 and 2's had one break of serve. I'd like to see us play more aggressive from the start of the match. Singles 1-4 played with high intensity, belief and dealt with the tough match conditions well. They also stayed very coachable. Courts 5 and 6 had chances to open up their matches and really get into them. Credit to their opponents for changing up their game styles. I'd like to see us respond better to that tomorrow."
 
FROM THE PLAYERS
"Doubles was a tough loss. We did our best to hold serve and put pressure on the return game at the net. They broke us at 5-5 and served out the set. Singles started out rough but kept my focus and played my game. Second set I found my rhythm and pattern to hit good targets consistently. I brought the same energy to the third set and won the match. We took a tough loss as a team, but each loss is a learning opportunity. Next one 'Eaters!" –Yen Nhi Huynh
 
SINGLES RESULTS
Lisa Zhu (NMSU) def. Carolyna Fowler (UCI) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
Kayla Meraz (UCI) vs. Anna Pinaieva (NMSU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 unf
Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) def. Whitney Moon (NSMU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Amanda Perez (UCI) vs. Nadia Nemeth (NMSU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 unf.
Dora Kurdi (NMSU) def. Maily Huynh (UCI) 6-4, 6-1
Montana Parkinson-Lubold (NMSU) def. Bella Pitchford (UCI) 6-2, 6-4
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
Kayla Meraz/Amanda Perez (UCI) vs. Anna Pinaieva/Nadia Nemeth (NMSU) 5-5 unf
Montana Parkinson-Lubold/Lisa Zhu (NMSU) def. Carolyna Fowler/Yen Nhi Huynh (UCI) 7-5
Dora Kurdi/Whitney Moon (NMSU) def. Maily Huynh/Nour Khayat (UCI) 6-3
 
EXHIBITION SINGLES
Lindsay Kim (UCI) def. Elisa Garcia (NMSU) 8-1
Nour Khayat (UCI) def. Elisa Garcia (NMSU) 8-2
 
UP NEXT
The Anteaters wrap up the road stretch in Texas, going to UTEP on Mar. 2 for a 9 a.m. PT (10 a.m. MT) match.