Carolina DeLuca

BIRMINGHAM, ALA.- The UTEP tennis team battled hard but couldn’t quite put it all together as it was defeated by UAB, 4-2, and Middle Tennessee State, 4-0, in a rare doubleheader Saturday afternoon.

The Miners (8-10) were originally slated to only face the Blue Raiders (8-5) but things changed due to poor weather predictions. Marina DeLuca and Alexandra Glebova maneuvered the different format with ease, as each enjoyed triumphs.

DeLuca defeated the Blazers’ (9-7) Giorgia Romero 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3 singles. Glebova dominated in her initial Conference UCA contest, drilling Menanteau Moolman, 6-2, 7-5, at the fourth slot. The Blazers picked up victories at the other courts, however, and that propelled them to the team triumph. There was no doubles action due to time constraints.

Carolina DeLuca played hard but couldn’t translate that effort into a triumph against Evelien Strijker at No. 2 singles. She was held off, 6-4, 6-1. Dariya Abdrakhmanova ran into a buzz saw in the form of Paula Alvarez at the top slot, with the UAB player staking a 6-2, 6-1, win.

Ximena Fuentes was bounced by Brittany DeFelice, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 5 singles. Veronika Makashov never backed down from Jenny Cape but couldn’t claim the key points, and she eventually was knocked off by a final score of 6-3, 6-4, at No. 6 singles.

Following a quick reprieve, UTEP took to the courts for the tilt against MTSU. Action christened with doubles, and the Orange and Blue never got into a rhythm.

Carolina DeLuca/Fuentes fought hard against Natalia Arya/Alex Dachos, battling from the initial point. The match went back and forth before the Blue Raiders tandem prevailed by a final count of 9-8 (7-5).

Abdrakhmanova/Glebova teamed up to represent UTEP at the No. 1 slot. MTSU’s Nava/Nomoto pulled out the triumph, 8-3. At No. 3 doubles, it was Austin Lavalli/Marina DeLuca falling to the Blue Raiders’ Anna Djananova/Taylor Coffey, 8-0.

UTEP aspired to come back in singles play but it did not come to fruition. Makashov was tripped up by Marietta Bigus, 6-0, 6-1, at the sixth spot while Fuentes was foiled by Coffey, 6-1, 6-2.

Carolina DeLuca pushed Araya hard in the first set but fell, 7-5. She then was forced to retire due to an injury.

Abdrakhmanova led Nava 6-4, 4-4, at No. 1 singles but the match was called due to the team outcome having been decided. Marina DeLuca (up 6-4, 1-1) against Djananova at No. 3 singles and Glebova (down 3-6, 3-3) against Nomoto at the fourth slot were stricken with the same fate.

UTEP will be back in action when it squares off against SMU on the road on April 2. The Miners will then face UCF in neutral-site contest (Dallas, Texas) at 9 a.m. on April 3.