Lobos fall on road to Fresno State, 1-4

The University of New Mexico’s men’s tennis team (11-8, MW: 1-1) fell on the road in Fresno, California to the Bulldogs of Fresno State (13-10, MW: 2-0) by a score of 1-4 on Sunday, April 1.

The Lobos started out strong for the day, nabbing the doubles point. The first win came from the duo of Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Stepan Holis in the third flight over Youssef Hassan and Zdenek Derkas, with a score of 6-2. In the second flight, the duo of Dominic West and Sean Baklini came out triumphant over Fresno State’s Xander Veys and Cagatay Soke, with a score of 6-4 to clinch the doubles point, leaving the first flight matchup of Lobos Bart Van Leijsen and Jorge Escutia against Cem Erturk and Mantas Bugailskis of Fresno State unfinished.

Unfortunately for the Lobos, they were not as successful in single’s play. Dominic West finished first, falling to Derkas in the third flight in two sets, 6-1, 6-1, to tie up the teams at 1-1. This was followed by a loss by fourth flight Lobo Holis, who fell to Soke by a score of 6-3, 6-4.

The Bulldogs were then able to score another pair of wins, the first against Baklini by Fresno State’s Henrique Osorio, 6-4, 6-4. Finally, Veys was able to clinch the match over Hernandez-Tong, 6-2, 6-4, to finish the day with a 4-1 Bulldog victory.

The Lobos are back in action on the road next weekend, where they will take on San Diego State in San Diego, California on Friday, April 6 at 2 P.M. Two days later, they will take on the Rebels of UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, April 8 at noon to finish the weekend of Mountain West play.