NMMI Sports Press

The Colt tennis teams hosted what coach John Barbour called a “great“ tennis tournament Friday and Saturday, and not just because both the weather and the competition was good.

Barbour was also very happy with how both his squads competed.

Facing off against players from Las Vegas Robertson, Lovington, Roswell, Artesia, Carlsbad, Clovis and Hobbs in the flighted tourney, the NMMI boys earned three first-place finishes, three seconds, two thirds and one fourth, while the girls took second, third and three consolation titles.

Led by freshmen Dakota Gibson at No. 1 and Joseph Lipets, the boys won both the No. 1 and 2 singles and the No. 1 doubles matches, with only one match (doubles) not finishing in straight sets. Junior Jackson Hicks (No. 3) lost his second match Friday against a tough Clovis player, but came back with a victory in his final match to finish third, while another young player, sophomore Nicholas VanLue, survived a tough three-game match in his No. 4 opener before falling in the title game to finish second.

“He went deep,” Barbour said. “That was impressive. Because he hasn’t been playing for very long.”

Sophomore Ivan Belyaev (No. 5) also took second, while No. 6 Ricardo Puebla, another freshmen, took fourth.

In doubles, Hicks and Belyaev took second at No. 2 and junior Renan Menezes and senior Noam Emerson-Fleming took third in No. 3 doubles.

All the Colts stayed on the championship side of the bracket.

“They played really well,” Barbour said. “They’re all kind of young, and it was good to see them rise up and do well. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but at the same time, I couldn’t be happier with their performance.”

The Lady Colts didn’t have quite as many championship side finishes as the boys, but Barbour was still happy with their effort. 

“For the most part, they’re really young, too, at least half of them,” he said. “They all did very well, so I was real happy with their performance as well.”

Morgan Lynch, the team’s most experienced player, won her first two matches at No. 1 singles before coming up against a tough almost-rival in a Las Vegas Robertson player, where she fell to finish second.

“The Robertson girls were really good,” Barbour said. “They have a very deep pedigree, and so do the Lynches, so it was a good matchup there.”

Teamed with partner Jasmine Munoz, Lynch took the consolation title at No. 1 doubles, while Munoz also got a consolation title at No. 4 singles.  Chimemerile Amechi and Rayala Martinez stayed on the plus-side of the bracket with a third-place finish at No. 3 doubles while on Friday, Amechi got consolation at No. 5 singles.

None of the Lady Colts were swept in their matches, with all winning at least one match in both singles and doubles.

Played under Covid protocols, which required fewer than 100 participants, including players and coaches, on site, the Institute borrowed the Goddard courts for Friday’s No. 5 and 6 singles rounds. Barbour said that worked out well and kept everything under the cap.

The weather also was good, with balmy temps and mostly mild winds.

“Today was really fantastic,” the coach said. “It was really warm. A couple of wind gusts came up. I think we flipped over one canopy today and one yesterday, but outside of that it was great.”

And, most importantly in a shortened season, everyone competing saw a lot of time on the court, with more than 90 matches played in total.

“This only helps them get in shape as we go through the season,” Barbour said.

The Colts will be back in action Tuesday with a dual match vs. Roswell at the Institute courts.

2021 NMMI Invitational

NMMI results

Boys, singles

Flight 1 — Dakota Gibson, NMMI, def. Theo Williamon, LV Robertson, 6-0, 6-0

Gibson, NMMI, def. Si Teel, Lovington, 6-3, 6-1

Gibson, NMMI, def. Ethan Jimenez, Hobbs, 6-2, 6-4 (1st place)

Flight 2 — Joseph Lipets, NMMI, def. Joseph, Cimino, Artesia, 6-1, 6-1

Lipets, NMMI, def. Yohan Sanarayanake, LV Robertson, 6-0, 6-2

Lipets, NMMI, def. David Corrales, Lovington, 7-5, 6-4  (1st place)

Flight 3 — Jackson Hicks, NMMI, def. Santi Gonzales, Artesia, 6-0, 6-0

Christian Mendoza, Lovington, def. Hicks, NMMI, 6-3, 6-4

Hicks, NMMI, def. Gerald Gonzalez, Clovis, 8-2 (3rd)

Flight 4 — Nicholas VanLue, NMMI, def. Michael Duncan. Lovington, 3-6, 6-4, 10-7

VanLue, NMMI, def. Ethan Sheppard, Roswell, 6-2, 6-1

Isaiah Mayes, Hobbs, def. VanLue, NMMI, 6-0, 6-1 (2nd place)

Flight 5 — Ivan Belyaev, NMMI, def. Brandon Sullivan, Carlsbad, 6-1, 6-0

Belyaev, NMMI, def. Trenton Tjaden, Artesia, 5-7, 6-0, 10-5

Alex Harris, Hobbs, def. Belyaev, NMMI, 6-1, 6-1 (2nd place)

Flight 6 — Ricardo Puebla, NMMI, def. Brenan Hills, Clovis, 3-6, 6-3, 10-6

Joacin Luna, Roswell, def. Puebla, NMMI, 6-4, 6-3

Reese Thackerson, Lovington, def. Puebla, NMMI, 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 (4th place)

Doubles

Flight 1 — Gibson/Lipets, NMMI, def. Jimenez/Armendariz, Hobbs, 1-6, 6-4, 10-8

Gibson/Lipets, NMMI, def. Teel/Corrales, Lovington, 6-3, 6-4

Gibson/Lipets, NMMI, def. Gomez/Hicks, Roswell, 6-3, 6-0 (1st place)

Flight 2 — Hicks/Belyaev, NMMI, def. Cimino/Cardenas, Artesia, 6-1, 6-1

Hicks/Belyaev, NMMI, def. Wood/Siazon, Carlsbad, 6-3, 6-2

Mendoza/Duran, Lovington, def. Hicks/Belyaev, NMMI, 6-1, 5-7, 10-5 (2nd place)

Flight 3 — Renan Menezes/Noam Emerson-Fleming, NMMI, def. Medina/Sena, LV Robertson, 7-5, 3-6, 10-3

Huggins/Harris, Hobbs, def. Menezes/Emerson-Fleming, NMMI, 6-1, 6-0

Menezes/Emerson-Fleming, NMMI, def. Thackerson/Hein, Lovington, 8-6 (3rd place)

Girls, singles

Flight 1 — Morgan Lynch, NMMI, def. Harmony Lopez, Carlsbad, 6-4, 6-4

Lynch, NMMI, def. Perla Gonzalez, Lovington, 6-1, 6-0

Mickey Senna, LV Robertson, def. Lynch, NMMI, 6-0, 6-1 (2nd place)

Flight 2 — Kimberly Villasenor, Lovington, def. Minnie DeGroot, NMMI, 6-1, 6-4 (injury)

Stela Garcia, LV Robertson, def. DeGroot, NMMI, 6-2, 6-2

DeGroot, NMMI, def. Elany Marquez, Roswell, 6-3, 7-3 (7th place)

Flight 3 — Isabel Armendariz, Hobbs, def. Lauren Leonard, NMMI, 6-3, 6-3

Leonard, NMMI, def. Kate Chester, Carlsbad, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8

Diana Mendoza, Lovington, def. Leonard, NMMI, 8-3 (6th place)

Flight 4 — Ashley Vigil, LV Robertson, def. Jasmine Munoz, NMMI, 6-1, 6-0

Munoz, NMMI, def. Maddie Hicks, Roswell, 7-5, 6-4

Munoz, NMMI, def. Celest Perez, Lovington, 8-6 (Consolation champ)

Flight 5 — Khayden Bush, Artesia, def. Chimemerile Amechi, NMMI, 6-1, 6-4

Amechi, NMMI, def. Victoria Leyva, Lovington, 6-1, 6-4

Amechi, NMMI, def. Trin Sena, LV Robertson, 6-0, 6-2  (Consolation champ)

Flight 6 — Angelique Rodriguez, Lovington, def. Taylor Langley, NMMI, 6-3, 6-1

Paulina Lomeli, Roswell, def. Langley, NMMI, 6-2, 6-2

Langley, NMMI, def. Desaray Lopez, LV Robertson, 6-0, 6-2 (7th place)

Doubles

Flight 1 — Lopez/Nornan, Carlsbad, NMMI, def. Lynch/Munoz, NMMI, 6-3, 7-3

Lynch/Munoz, NMMI def. Carroll/Hicks, Roswell, 8-4

Lynch/Munoz, NMMI def. Moody/Armendariz, Hobbs, 7-3, 8-6 (Consolation champ)

Flight 2 — Grado/Reyes-Gomez, Artesia, def. DeGroot/Leonard, NMMI, 7-6, 6-6 (7-3)

DeGroot/Leonard, NMMI, def. Chester/Enloe, Carlsbad, 6-0, 6-2

Mendoza/Perez, Lovington, def. DeGroot/Leonard, NMMI, 8-6 (6th place)

Flight 3 — Amechi/Rayala Martinez, NMMI, def. T. Sena/Lopez, LV Robertson, 6-2, 6-3

Harvey/Bush, Artesia, def. Amechi/Martinez, NMMI, 6-2, 6-4

Amechi/Martinez, NMMI, def. Leyva/Rodriguez, Lovington, 8-4 (3rd place)