“The great thing about the conference tournament is that anything can happen,” head coach Ivan Fernandez said. “Regardless of what happened during the regular season, every team has a chance.”
UTEP’s Purkiss Gets Fifth Win Of Spring, Miners fall 4-1 to Cowgirls
Freshman Chloe Purkiss triumphed in straight sets over her Wyoming opponent for her fifth win of the spring season, but the UTEP tennis team fell 4-1 in a point-clinch match against Wyoming on Sunday at the El Paso Tennis and Swim Club.
Purkiss handled the Cowgirls’ Myiah Scott 6-1, 6-1 at the no. 6 position to get the Miners on the board. UTEP fell to 4-6 on the season, while Wyoming moved to 5-4.
In doubles play, Raven Bennett and Lois Wagenvoort faced off at the no. 1 spot against Wyoming’s Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg, but fell 6-2.
On court five, playing no. 3 doubles, Purkiss and Milena Baigorria slipped up 6-1 against Milka Genkova and Myiah Scott, clinching the doubles point for the Cowgirls while stopping the no. 2 doubles match, which saw Yvette van Oijen and Alisa Morozova down 5-2 against Ana Tkachenko and Magdalena Stencel.
The Miners evened up the score at 1-1 with Purkiss’ win on court six, but Wagenvoort dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 6-1 match to Stencel at no. 1 singles to put the Cowgirls up 2-1. Van Oijen was paired against van Der Ploeg at the no. 4 spot, keeping it close but falling in set one 6-4, and dropping the second frame 6-2.
Rookie Erandi Martinez, looking for her seventh win of the spring, battled Milka Genkova at the no. 2 spot in the lineup but fell 6-3, 6-3, ending the match.
Two matches were left unfinished, including Bennett’s at the no. 3 position, who took down Koonik in set one 6-2, before falling 6-2 in the second stanza. Bennett was 2-3 down in the third set as the match was called. Morozova also won set one 7-6 over Tkachenko and was trailing 5-3 before her match was left unfinished.
UTEP will begin a week-long tour of Florida, meeting with five schools in seven days March 12-19. The Miners will battle South Florida at 1 p.m. on March 12 in Tampa, Fla. to begin the stretch.
