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NMMI gets past Lady Rams in state tennis

ALBUQUERQUE — District rival New Mexico Military made Portales’ stay in the state Class 1-4A girls team tennis tournament a short one on Friday, handing the Lady Rams a 6-3 setback in a quarterfinal match at Academy H.S.

The Lady Colts, seeded third in the eight-team event, advanced to a semifinal matchup against No. 2 Mesilla Valley at 8 a.m. today. The Sonblazers blanked Sandia Prep 9-0.

The other semifinal matches top-seeded Las Vegas Robertson against No. 4 St. Michael’s. Semifinal winners play in the 1 p.m. championship match.

The win was NMMI’s third over the Lady Rams this season.

“We played real well,” PHS girls tennis coach Anne-Marie Bucksath said. “I’m really excited for next year; we have all the girls coming back.”

PHS, which got a third-place finish from junior Sarah Blaeser in individual singles competition on Thursday, picked up wins against NMMI at No. 4 singles, with freshman Timberlyn Neece beating the Lady Colts’ Eli Ward 6-4, 7-5, and at No. 5 singles, with junior Kelly Fraze shutting out Sophia Brassea 6-0. The Lady Rams also won at No. 3 doubles, with sophomores Danielle Ruiz and Vanessa Lucero posing a 7-5, 6-3 win over Brassea and Flor Toscano.

“Sarah played amazing yesterday; she had three long matches,” Bucksath said. “Today, I thought we had a chance against NMMI, but we dropped a couple of matches we should’ve won.”