NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 56 University of New Mexico men’s tennis team closed out at action at the 2015 ITA Kickoff Weekend with a tight 4-2 loss to No. 58 Arkansas on Sunday afternoon at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
The Razorbacks claimed an early lead after winning the doubles point in two quick matches. Giammarco Micolani and Jovan Parlic defeated Rodolfo Jauregui and Hayden Sabatka 6-0 in the No. 2 spot. Freshmen duo Augustus Ge and Jorge Escutia fell to Johan den Toom and Will Albanese, 6-1, allowing UARK to tally the doubles point. James Hignett and Bart Van Leijsen were ahead 4-3 in the No. 1 doubles spot when the point was clinched.
UNM got off to a strong start in singles and claimed early back-to-back victories. Sabatka took down Parlic 6-2, 7-6 in the No. 2 spot while Mitchell McDaniels defeated Micolani 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot for the Lobos.
But the Razorbacks responded with wins in the No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Albanese defeated Hignett in a three-set match 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 while den Toom netted a tight 7-6, 7-5 win over Van Leijsen in the No. 3 spot.
The score sat at 3-2 while Ge and Escutia battled it out in their matches. David Herrerias eventually defeated Escutia 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to clinch the win for UARK. Ge was up 3-2 in his third set when the match was declared unfinished.
UNM is now 4-4 on the season.
The Lobos hit the road again next weekend for a match against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas at 5 p.m. on Feb. 6.
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