SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It’s been an exciting and successful weekend in Utah for the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team. The Lobos (4-5) claimed their third straight victory of the weekend over the PAC-12 Utah Utes 4-3 on Sunday afternoon after defeating Nebraska and BYU.
“What a weekend,” said head coach Ben Dunbar. “The guys showed true grit and determination to get three great wins. Utah is a well-coached team and they are very good at home. To come here and beat this group in their own backyard says a lot about our guys. I’m proud of them.”
The doubles team of Lawrence Perrin and Ricky Hernandez-Tong fell to Joe Woolley and Dan Little of Utah 6-3 at the No. 1 position that gave Utah the first win in doubles. Soon after, Bart Van Leijsen and Dominic West grasped a win for the team after defeating Egbert Weverink and David Micevski of Utah 6-4 at the No. 2 position that tied the Lobos and the Utes.
Sean Baklini and Rodolfo Jauregui faced off against Santiago Sierra and Slava Shainyan of Utah for the tie-breaker at the No. 3 position. Baklini and Jauregui defeated Sierra and Slava 6-4, giving New Mexico the doubles point advantage.
In singles, Perrin was defeated by Shainyan 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 5 position and Jorge Escutia was defeated by Woolley 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 6 position. The Lobos trailed the Utes 2-1 but came back for another win after Van Leijsen defeated Micevski 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 1 position. The Utes fought back with another win after Jauregui fell to Little 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 2 position. Hernandez-Tong followed up by contributing another win for the team after defeating Parker McGuiness of Utah 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 3 position, leaving New Mexico and Utah tied 3-3.
It came down to the battle between West and Sierra at the No. 4 position for win.
West, down 4-2 in the third set, fought hard for the last four points that would bring the match to an end and clinch the team’s victory. West defeated Sierra 7-5, 4-6, and 6-4 to snap the Utes 9-1 winning streak and give the Lobos the 4-3 victory.
“We are ready to come home and play in front of our fans next weekend,” Dunbar said. “I want the Lobo nation to come out on Saturday and get loud against UTSA and, our in-state rivals, NMSU. We are ready for some home comforts but we will remember this trip for a long time. I would also like to offer my condolences to the family of Tommy Barber – who sadly passed away last Wednesday at age 13. He was a huge Lobo tennis fan. He will be missed in the summer at camp and in the stands at our home matches.”
The Lobos will host opening weekend on Saturday, Feb. 25 against UTSA at 10 a.m. MT followed by NMSU at 4:00 p.m. MT at New Mexico’s McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium (weather permitting). Follow UNM Men’s Tennis on Facebook and @UNMMensTennis on Twitter for updates throughout the week.
Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3) Singles: (5,6,1,2,3,4)