Lobos off to a strong start at ITA Regionals
PROVO, Utah — The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team is off to a hot start at the ITA Regional Championships. Ricky Hernandez Tong, Dominic West, Philip Stockmar and Tim Buttner had a combined 7-1 record on opening day of the tournament. They currently stand 11-5.
In doubles, No. 12 Buttner and Stockmar defeated Alex Exsted and Cassell King of Northern Colorado 8-4. However, they were defeated 8-2 by Sam Tullis and David Ball of BYU in the next match.
No. 2 Hernandez Tong and West defeated Jeremy Merville and Dylan Levitt of Nevada 8-5. They will face Aditya Vashistha and Felipe Acosta of Utah State on Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.
In singles, No. 32 Stockmar claims two victories over Valdemar Holm of Utah State 6-2, 7-6 and Ruben Montaño of Northern Arizona 6-4, 6-3. He was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by No. 1 Dan Little of Utah today at noon.
No. 6 West defeated JD Malan of Weber State 6-3, 6-4 and Egbert Weverink of Utah 6-3, 6-3. He also defeated Mack Galvin of Air Force 6-2, 6-2 and Mark Kovacs of Idaho 6-7, 6-1, 6-1.
No. 11 Buttner was defeated by Peter Trhac of Idaho State 7-6(7-4), 7-6 (10-8). He moved to the consolation draw and defeated Alex Exsted of Northern Colorado 6-1, 6-4. Buttner came in close battle with Alexander Flink of Montana State but was defeated 4-6, 7-5, 11-9.
No. 3 Hernandez Tong defeated Cedric Rupa of Southern Utah 6-0, 6-2 and Isaac Perez of Air Force 6-3, 6-1. He also defeated Sean Mckendree of Air Force 6-4, 6-4 and Jeffrey Hsu of BYU 7-5, 7-6.
“Good first day in Provo. I feel like these guys are really progressing with the professionalism side of things,” head coach Ben Dunbar said. “This tournament will be won by someone who is tough and talented. That is my challenge to our guys this week – how much can we grow each match and how tough can we be when we face adversity. On Day 1, we went 7-1 and today we want to do even better. Go Lobos!”
Be sure to check out http://events.universaltennis.com/tournaments/731/ for the most up to date scores, times and information on the tournament. Also be sure to follow the team at UNM Men’s Tennis on Facebook, @UNMMenTennis on Twitter, and @unmlobomtennis on Instagram for updates and information throughout the week.