Lobos fall to Utah State, 4-1

Despite a strong start in double’s play, the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team (12-10, MW: 2-3), fell to the Aggies of Utah State (15-8, MW: 6-0) by a score of 4-1.

The Lobos came out strong in double’s play, with matches that were neck-in-neck  throughout play. Fortunately for the Lobos, first flight Bart Van Leijsen and Jorge Escutia were able to take a win over Utah State’s Jaime Barajas and Jose Carvajal by a score of 7-6. Next, the third flight pairing of Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Stepan Holis were able to pull away from Felipe Acosta and Aditya Vashistha of the Aggies, winning 7-5 to put the Lobos up 1-0.

In single’s play, the Lobos put up a hard fight, but they were unable to come up with any wins. In the sixth flight, Sean Baklini of the Lobos fell to Vashistha, with a final score of 4-6, 2-6. Next, despite an impressive effort in the second-set tiebreaker, Van Leijsen fell to Barajas, 2-6, 6-7, in the first flight.

Next, fourth flight, Jorge Estutia was bested by Valdamer Holm of the Aggies, and he fell by a score of 6-7, 2-6. Finally, despite a strong showing in the second set, Dominic West was edged out by Samuel Serrano of the Aggies in the third flight, 3-6, 6-7, giving the Aggies the fourth and final point of the day.

“This was a great match to learn from, and our guys will be stronger for this experience,” Head Coach Ben Dunbar said. “Utah State did a good job, and they bring it every night. I hope we get to play them again in San Diego.”

The Lobos are back in action on Sunday, April 15, as they take on yet another Mountain West foe, the Broncos of Boise State,  at noon at home in Albuquerque.