ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – University of New Mexico senior Samir Iftikhar rallied through a tightly contested three-set match in the No. 2 singles spot to guide the Lobos to a close 4-3 victory over the UNLV Rebels at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
The No. 45 Lobos’ Friday evening matchup against the No. 75 Rebels was just about as exciting and as close as it could get. Both teams fought tooth and nail to the end and the match eventually came down to a tiebreaker in the third set of the final singles match left on the court.
“What an amazing college tennis match,” interim head coach Bart Scott said. “Credit to UNLV for another awesome match. Great fight from both teams tonight.”
The Lobos won the doubles point to start the match after picking up victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen teamed up for a swift 6-1 win over Adam Gage-Brown and Ace Matias in the No. 1 spot. The Rebels replied with a win in the No. 3 spot as Alex Cozbinov and Denys Pume defeated UNM’s Rodolfo Jauregui and Jorge Escuita 6-2. However James Hignett and Augustus Ge powered past Ruben Alberts and Jakob Amilon 6-4 in the No. 2 position to clinch the point. Hignett and Ge are now 9-4 as a doubles duo.
Sabatka, who stepped up to play the No. 1 spot for UNM, posted the Lobos’ first singles win of the day as he defeated Matias 6-0, 6-4. Van Leijsen followed with a two-set victory of his own to give the Lobos’ a comfortable 3-0 lead.
However, UNLV wasn’t about to let their deficit discourage them and eventually worked their way back in the match – slowly, but surely.
The Rebels got on the board for the first time of the evening with a singles win in the No. 3 spot; Amilon defeated Mitchell McDaniels 6-4, 6-3. UNLV continued its success with a 6-1, 7-5 victory in the No. 5 position as Cozbinov defeated Hignett.
Escutia and Iftikhar were the only Lobos left on the court as the score sat at 3-2 and both matches were extremely unpredictable. Escutia went on to fall to Alberts in a tiebreaker in a third set, 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8), allowing the Rebels to put the score at 3-3.
The match came down to Iftikhar’s battle against Pume in the No. 2 position and it was eventful to say the least. The Lobo senior claimed the first set 7-6 (0), but Pume replied with a 6-2 win in the second, forcing a third set. At one point Iftikhar was down 0-4 in the third set, but he rallied to keep the Lobos alive and put the score at 6-all. It all came down to a tiebreaker where Iftikhar eventually pulled ahead to take the match with a final score of 7-6 (0), 2-6, 7-6 (4).
“To fight back in a match like that is incredible. That is something that only a senior and team co-captain could do,” Scott said.
The Lobos are now 16-9 on the season and 4-1 in Mountain West play.
UNM is back in action for another big match on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT against San Diego State. This match will also serve as Senior Day for Iftikhar, Hignett, and McDaniels. Additionally, the 5th Annual Friends of Loren Dils BBQ will take place before the match, starting at 1 p.m. MT. Former Lobo tennis coach Alan Dils will team up with former Lobo tennis athlete Brandon Altman to do the “first serve” of the match. Don’t miss out on the exciting action!
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