January 24, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team remains undefeated after picking up a 5-2 win over Cal Poly on Friday, Jan. 24 at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex. The Lobos improved their overall record to 7-0.
UNM was playing catch-up in singles after losing in doubles to start off the night. Cal Poly secured the one point in doubles after claiming two easy matches.
The Lobos made a quick come back in the singles competition. No. 45 Samir Iftikhar led the pack and picked up the first win of the match while competing in the No. 1 singles spot for UNM. Iftikhar clinched an easy 6-1, 6-1 win against Cal Poly’s Marco Comuzzo.
“We had a bit of a shaky start and lost the doubles point,” Iftikhar said. “They had a lot more energy to start off the match, but we did a good job bouncing back in the singles. Given the situation, we played calm and mature tennis. We’re definitely looking to come out with a higher level of energy on Sunday.”
James Hignett sealed the deal for the Lobos after winning his match against Gannon Daynes, 6-2, 6-2. Andrew Van Der Vyver finished the night with a 6-4, 6-3 win of his own.
The Lobos will hit the court again on Sunday, Jan. 26 as they take on the University of Utah at 10:00 a.m.
Doubles:
Marco Comuzzo/Matt Thompson (CP) def. Hayden Sabatka/Rodolfo Jauregui (NM), 8-6
Devin Barber/Corey Pang (CP) & James Hignett/Samir Iftikhar (NM) – UNFINISHED
(5-6, DNF)
Gannon Daynes/Naveen Beasley (CP) def. Mads Hegelund/Andrew Van Der Vyver (NM), 8-4
Singles:
Samir Iftikhar (NM) def. Marco Comuzzo (CP), 6-1, 6-1
Mitch McDaniels (NM) def. Derek Klein (CP), 6-2, 6-0
Hayden Sabatka (NM) def. Naveen Beasley (CP), 6-4, 6-3
Corey Pang (CP) Rodolfo Jauregui (NM), 6-3, 6-3
James Hignett (NM) def. Gannon Daynes (CP), 6-4, 6-1
Andrew Van Der Vyver (NM) def. Matt Thomson (CP), 6-4, 6-3