TUCSON, Ariz. – The Western New Mexico University women's tennis team gave everything they could and it came down to the last match before Pima pulled out the tight 5-4 victory over the Mustangs in the 2012 season opener Thursday.

On the women's side, Ganna Tiurina (Kiev, Ukraine/M.M. Gromov #227) opened her Mustang career with a tough three-set win over Rochin, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Nikolina Vukadin (Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Sredwjoskolski Centar Pale) had a difficult matchup with Alteiri at No. 2, winning five games but fell in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Ashley Newell (Las Vegas, NV/Silverado) went as far as she could in both sets without going into a tiebreaker, winning both sets by a score of 7-5 to defeat Emery. Doris Berberic (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley High School) cruised at her No. 4 spot, dropping just one game as she won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0 over Ponzio. Dena Irvin (Farmington, NM/Farmington High School) won seven games from Cole-Encinas at the fifth flight but fell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. The match then came down to Erica Rasmussen (/) at No. 6 singles, as she took the first set from Blackwell, 6-3, but Blackwell came back to take the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2 to take the matchup and the match for Pima.


In doubles action, Vukadin/Tiurina defeated Rochin/Emery in a tough No. 1 flight pulling away for a 8-6 win. Alteiri/Ponzio helped get Pima back in the match as they won their No. 2 match over Newell/Berberic, 8-3. Cole-Encinas/Blackwell gave Pima a 2-1 overall win in the doubles competition with an 8-2 win over Irvin/Aragon.


“The lady Mustangs showed great heart this afternoon and there is no doubt this year is going to be a great year for them,” Head Coach Guillaume Dupont said.


The women will return to action on Wednesday, February 8 in the Grand Canyon University Tournament opening against the University of Hawaii-Hilo.