LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team had another successful day in singles competition at the NMSU Invite. The Lobos, who went 7-0 in singles on the first day, finished day two with an impressive 3-1 singles record and had two players named singles co-champions.
Freshman Bart Van Leijsen and redshirt freshman Sean Baklini both battled through the semifinals round of the Crimson bracket to earn a share of the championship title. Baklini defeated Abilene Christian senior Guilherme Gesser, 6-2, 6-2, and Van Leijsen tallied a 6-1, 6-2 win over junior Jordan Gobatie of Northern Arizona. Since the final match would have featured two Lobo competitors, the tournament decided to call the championship match and named Baklini and Van Leijsen co-champions. This is the first tournament title for both young Lobos.
Redshirt freshman Shunji Hirooka also found success in the semifinals as he defeated New Mexico State’s Charles Baron, 6-3, 6-4, in the White singles bracket. Hirooka will face NMSU junior Liam Goldberg in the championship match on Sunday morning. Goldberg earned a spot in the final match by defeating UNM’s Bryan Cunningham in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-4. Goldberg won the singles title at the NMSU Invite last season and will certainly be battling to pick up a second championship.
The Lobos, who went 2-0 in doubles on the first day of the tournament, struggled in doubles competition on day two. Hirooka and Baklini fell to Arizona Christian’s Bensley and Domanski, 8-4, in the quarterfinals. Van Leijsen and Cunningham defeated NMSU’s Germain Degardin and Baron, 8-5, to make it past the quarterfinals, but dropped to NMSU’s Strahinja Trecekov and Patrick Pfister, 8-4, in the semifinals to put an end to their run at the singles title.
Thoughts From Coach Bart Scott About Day Two:
“After a long day yesterday, we came out hungry but a little sluggish today in doubles and our opponents took advantage. However, we bounced right back and took three of four singles semifinal matches. Bart and Sean both advanced to the final of the Crimson draw and have been declared Co-Champions! Great effort by both players! Shunji reached the finals of his first collegiate event as well and will take on last years tournament champion from NMSU. It should be a great final. The guys have put in a lot of hard work already and are extremely motivated to keep working even harder.”
DAY TWO RESULTS
Crimson Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Van Leijsen/Cunningham (UNM) def. Degardin/Baron (NMSU), 8-5
Bensley/Domanski (AzC) def. Hirooka/Baklini (UNM), 8-4
Crimson Doubles (Semifinals)
Trecekov/Pfister (NMSU) def. Van Leijsen/Cunningham (UNM), 8-4
Crimson Singles Bracket (Semifinals)
Van Leijsen (UNM) def. Gobati (NAU), 6-1, 6-2
Baklini (UNM) def. Gesser (ACU), 6-2, 6-2
White Singles Bracket (Semifinals)
Hirooka (UNM) def. Baron (NMSU), 6-3, 6-4
Goldberg (NMSU) def. Cunningham (UNM), 6-2, 6-4