FORT WORTH, TEXAS – The No. 58 University of New Mexico men’s tennis team put up an impressive fight against No. 17 TCU on Friday evening, but the Lobos weren’t able to pull off the upset against a tough Horned Frogs lineup.
The Horned Frogs claimed the doubles point to start the match after tallying wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions. However the Lobos did not hand over the first point easily. James Hignett and Bart Van Leijsen lost a close 6-4 match to TCU’s Will Stein and Nick Chappell who are ranked twentieth in the ITA National Doubles rankings. Freshmen Jorge Escutia and Augustus Ge lost 6-3 to Trevor Johnson and Hudson Blake in the No. 3 spot. Johnson is ranked nationally in two different doubles pairs with other TCU teammates.
Hayden Sabatka and Rodolfo Jauregui were down 4-5 against Cameron Norrie and Guillermo Nunez in the No. 2 spot when their match was called.
Hignett handily claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Trey Daniel in the No. 6 singles spot to put the Lobos on the board. However the Horned Frogs replied with three quick singles victories to tally the win.
Sabatka moved up to play the No. 1 spot for the Lobos where he squared off against No. 24 Norrie. The TCU opponent eventually claimed the match 6-3, 6-3 to give the Horned Frogs their first singles point.
No. 91 Will Stein defeated Bart Van Leijsen 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot and Facundo Lugones clinched the win with his 6-2, 6-2 win over Rodolfo Jauregui in the No. 4 position.
Augustus Ge and Johnson played out their match in the No. 5 spot. Johnson tallied a 7-5, 6-2 win to give the Horned Frogs their fifth point. Mitchell McDaniels fell to Chappell in a three-set match in the No. 2 spot, 4-6, 6-3, 10-1 putting the final score at 6-1.
UNM is now 4-5 on the season. The Lobos travel to San Louis Obispo, Calif. next weekend for a pair of matches against Cal Poly and USF.
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