ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—The No. 60 University of New Mexico men’s tennis squad hosted yet another conference this evening under the McKinnon lights where they defeated Nevada in an exciting 4-3 match.
In doubles play, the No. 28 duo of Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen took on Robert Allan and Nadrew Poustie at the number one spot. The Lobos won 6-4.
At the number three position, Rodolfo Jauregui and Michael Tran faced Ryan Andrada and Aaron Breust. The two teams battled close games, until the Lobos pulled ahead to win the match 6-4 and clinch the doubles point.
The match at number two was left unfinished, where Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Jorge Escutia were tied at 5 with their opponents.
To add another point on the board for the Lobos, Hernandez-Tong made quick work of Allan and defeated him 6-1, 6-3. He competed at the number four position.
Nevada won its first match when Robert Margitfalvi topped Tran 6-3, 6-0 at number five. New Mexico quickly answered when Jauregui defeated Sandro Lena 6-1, 6-2 at the number six position.
When Sabatka fell a close match at the number one position and Escutia at the number three, the Wolf Pack tied the match at three all.
Van Leijsen was facing Poustie at the number two spot and this would be the deciding match. In the first set, Van Leijsen won 6-3, but he fell 6-4 in the second. In the third match, with his whole team cheering him on in the stands, Van Leijsen pulled ahead to win the set and his match 6-4, and clinch the win for New Mexico.
“We won tonight against a tough Nevada team,” said head coach Bart Scott. “We did some things well, other areas we lacked. We have to be ready to play a very good Fresno team on Sunday at their place. We’ve got to be ready to outcompete them if we want to have a chance to win.”
The Lobos advance to 2-3 in conference play and 15-13 in their season. They head to California now to take on Fresno State, another conference opponent.
Lobos Defeat Nevada 4-3
