LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Tallying two doubles victories and seven singles wins, the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team finished the first day of the NMSU Invite with a perfect 9-0 record.
“It was a nice day for us in Las Cruces,” head coach Bart Scott said. “We came out focused, everyone got the job done today and we are all proud. We still have work to do, but to go 9-0 shows the guys that all the hard work we are putting in is paying off.”
The Lobos played strong from start to finish. Sophomore Bryan Cunningham and freshman Bart Van Leijsen teamed up for a doubles victory over Arizona Christian. Redshirt freshman duo Sean Baklini and Shunji Hirooka recorded an 8-4 win over AZC’s Santiago Galeffi and Tyler Cawthorne to give Hirooka his first collegiate win of his career.
The momentum carried over into singles play as all four Lobos went undefeated in two rounds of play. Van Leijsen and Baklini represented the Lobos in the Crimson singles bracket. Van Leijsen recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Northern Arizona’s Felix Schuman in the first round. The quarterfinals brought a bit more of a challenge as Van Leijsen battled New Mexico State’s Strahinja Trecakov through three sets, but Van Leijsen was able to pull of the win with a final score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Baklini found himself in a similar situation as he earned a quick 6-2, 6-0 win over AZC’s Galeffi in the first round, but had to step it up to make it past the quarterfinals. Baklini and NAU’s Alex Locci also duked it out through three sets, but Baklini eventually prevailed with a 7-6, 5-7, 7-5 victory.
“Hats off to Albuquerque’s own Sean Baklini for gutting out a 7-6, 5-7, 7-5 win against a quality NAU opponent who played very high in their lineup last year,” Scott said. “Bart got two very high quality wins while getting a welcome to what the NMSU UNM rivalry is all about. He let the crowd and his opponent rattle him a bit, but did a great job bouncing back to pick up the win in a hostile environment!”
Cunningham and Hirooka competed in the White singles bracket. Cunningham defeated Western New Mexico’s Jean Laurent Pageault, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round and then went on to defeat Abilene Christian’s Paul Domansky with a perfect 6-0, 6-0 score. Hirooka had a bye for the first round and then went on to record his first collegiate singles victory defeating Kester Black from NAU, 6-4, 6-4.
“Shunji got his first win which is great and Bryan won a match 6-0, 6-0 which is not at all easy to do,” Scott said proudly about the Lobos’ success.
The NMSU Invite will resume on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. MTN.
DAY ONE RESULTS
Crimson Singles Bracket (Round of 16)
Sean Baklini (UNM) def. Santiago Galeffi (AzC), 6-2, 6-0
Bart Van Leijsen (UNM) def. Felix Schuman (NAU), 6-3, 6-4
Crimson Singles Bracket (Quarterfinals)
Sean Baklini (UNM) def. Alex Locci (NAU), 7-6, 5-7, 7-5
Bart Van Leijsen (UNM) def. Strahinja Trecakov (NMSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
White Singles Bracket (Round of 16)
Bryan Cunningham (UNM) def. Jean Laurent Pageault (WNMU), 6-3, 6-4
Shunji Hirooka (UNM) – Bye for the first round
White Singles Bracket (Quarterfinals)
Bryan Cunningham (UNM) def. Paul Domansky (ACU), 6-0, 6-0
Hirooka (UNM) def. Kester Black (NAU), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Bracket (Round of 16)
Hirooka/Baklini (UNM) def. Galeffi/Cawthorne (AzC), 8-4
Van Leijsen/Cunningham (UNM) def. Arizona Christian, 8-2