LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team fell just short of earning two Mountain Regional Championship titles on Sunday as they dropped matches to Denver in both the singles and doubles final.
Second-seeded Samir Iftikhar lost to DU’s No. 1 seed Henry Craig, 6-2, 6-3, in the singles championship. Craig, who currently comes in at No. 61 in ITA preseason rankings, defeated Iftikhar (No. 101) for the title for the second year in a row. However, the UNM senior has nothing to hang his head about as he made an impressive run in the regional tournament this week. Iftikhar picked up five singles victories on his way to his third consecutive singles championship match.
“I’m so proud of Sam for pulling himself off the mat once again after two finals defeats in a row to give himself a shot again,” head coach Bart Scott said about Iftikhar’s loss. “Unfortunately it didn’t go his way again, but it takes a special person to keep working for these opportunities after tough defeats. All credit to Craig. He played a smart match and kept Sam off balance from start to finish.”
Iftikhar, who also made a deep run at the ITA All-American Championships in late September, has had a notable fall season and Scott has definitely taken notice.
“Sam is the first Lobo that I’m aware of that has reached three straight finals in only three appearances,” Scott said. “He’s having a fantastic start to the year and I look forward to coaching him through his senior year. He’s a great Lobo!”
Craig, joined by Alex Gasson, also defeated UNM for the doubles title on Sunday. James Hignett and Bart Van Leijsen dropped a tight 6-4, 6-4 match to the DU doubles duo, but the Lobos put up a great fight against the top-20, first-seeded team. Craig and Gasson currently come in at No. 18 in ITA preseason doubles rankings.
“I’m also extremely happy about our doubles,” Scott said. “We had 3 teams in the quarters, two teams in the semis, and one reaching the final. Not bad at all. James and Bart had their chances today. DU stayed the course and deserved the titles today.”
The Lobos are heading home reflecting on a great week of tennis and Scott acknowledges that his staff has played a major part in his team’s success.
“We will keep working hard to improve each and every day,” Scott said. “I’m also proud of coach Dunbar and our entire support staff for their help this fall. It’s a total team effort and I have to take this opportunity to recognize our trainer Kelsey Hubbard and strength and conditioning coach Ryan Dupre. They deserve a lot of credit for all the hard work they put in.”
The MTN Regional Championships was the last tournament on the Lobos’ fall schedule.
“It was a really fun tournament again this year,” Scott said. “The guys showed they are ready to take a leap both feet in this year.”