ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The top-seeded University of New Mexico men’s tennis team (20-10, 7-2 MW) fell to three-time Mountain West tournament defending champion Boise State 4-2 in the semifinals round of the MW Championships on Saturday afternoon at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
“Tough match today,” head coach Bart Scott said. “It was an amazing atmosphere. Lobo Nation definitely did their part, they were awesome. Unfortunately, we didn’t play our best tennis today. Our hats are off to Boise State as they played a big part in why we weren’t able to play our best. We just weren’t able to sink our teeth into a couple matches and that gave Boise a huge lift.”
UNM prevailed in doubles play to start the match. James Hignett and Augustus Ge swept Garrett Patton and Toby Mitchell 6-0 in the No. 2 position. No. 51 nationally ranked doubles pair Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen had their eight-match doubles win streak snapped by Lewis Roskilly and Thomas Tenreiro as they fell 6-4 in the No. 1 position. Senior duo Samir Iftikhar and Mitchell McDaniels stepped up in the No. 3 doubles spot and posted a 7-5 win over Brian Foley and Abe Hewko to clinch the doubles point for the Lobos.
However the Broncos responded with tough singles action. Boise State’s Patton got the Broncos started with his two-set victory over Sabatka in the No. 1 singles position; 6-3, 6-2. The Broncos took a 2-1 lead as Foley defeated Van Leijsen 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 4 spot. Roskilly followed with 6-1, 6-3 win over Hignett extending the Broncos’ lead to 3-1.
Iftikhar kept the Lobos in the match with his solid 6-4, 7-5 win over Tenreiro in the No. 2 spot. Unfortunately his victory would go on to be UNM’s only singles win of the day. McDaniels battled in his match against Mitchell in the No. 3 position and eventually forced a third set, however Rodolfo Jauregui came up short in his three-set match against Hewko in the No. 6 spot before McDaniels could finish. Hewko sealed the win for the Broncos with his 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Jauregui.
For the three seniors in the Lobo lineup, this situation is all too familiar as this is the fourth straight year that the Broncos have defeated the Lobos in the Mountain West tournament.
UNM’s run at the conference tournament title may have come to an end, but the Lobos are hoping that their accomplishments this season will allow them to snag a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Lobos, who are currently ranked No. 39 in the country, have a solid regular season resume that should give them a shot an earning an at-large bid. UNM claimed the MW regular season title, went 6-4 against ranked opponents, and won sixteen of its last nineteen matches.
“I think we’ve had a fantastic season considering we were without our top player (at that time) for six weeks,” Scott said. “We’ve done enough to get in. We defeated No. 17 Texas Tech (who beat No. 1 Oklahoma), we have a direct win over No. 38 SDSU, and we beat Denver and Boise State on the road. We should have nine or ten ranked wins when they run the rankings twice. I’m hopeful we’ve earned the right to dance.”
NCAA selections will be announced on Monday, April 27.
“We wish both Nevada and Boise State luck in tomorrow’s final,” Scott said. “Also, we hope to see all of Lobo Nation back at McKinnon tonight to help pull the women’s tennis team through their match against San Jose State.”
Twitter: @UNMMenTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/UNM.Men.Tennis
COMPLETE RESULTS:
Doubles:
1) Roskilly/Tenreiro (BOISE) def. Sabatka/Van Leijsen (UNM), 6-4
2) Hignett/Ge (UNM) def. Mitchell/Patton (BOISE), 6-0
3) Iftikhar/Hignett (UNM) def. Foley/Hewko (BOISE), 7-5
Order of Finish: (2, 1, 3)
Singles:
1) Patton (BOISE) def. Sabatka (UNM), 6-3, 6-2
2) Iftikhar (UNM) def. Tenreiro (BOISE), 6-3, 7-5
3) McDaniels (UNM) & Mitchell (BOISE), 4-6, 6-4, 2-2 unfinished
4) Foley (BOISE) def. Van Leijsen (UNM), 6-3, 6-2
5) Roskilly (BOISE) def. Hignett (UNM), 6-1, 6-3
6) Hewko (BOISE) def. Jauregui (UNM), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: (1, 4, 5, 2, 6)