Albuquerque, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team fell to Fresno State in a thrilling tiebreaker on Friday evening at the Linda Estes Tennis Center. The match was moved to indoors due to strong winds and grey skies in the Albuquerque area.
This is the second time New Mexico (7-10, 0-1 MW) battled the Bulldogs (10-10, 1-0 MW) this season.
The Lobos came out strong with the doubles point victory. Bart Van Leijsen and Dominic West grasped the first win against Mantas Bugailiskis and Xander Veys 6-4 at No. 2. Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Lawrence Perrin battled Euan McIntosh and Patrik Pech for the last point at No. 1. They managed to get the win 7-5 that would give the Lobos the 1-0 advantage over the Bulldogs.
In singles, Van Leijsen defeated MacIntosh 6-4, 7-6 at No. 2 that gave the Lobos a strong 2-0 lead. Perrin contributed another win over Youssef Hassan 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 5 that put the Lobos at 3-0.
Just when the Lobos needed one more win to secure their victory, the Bulldogs fought back.
Zdenek Derkas of Fresno State defeated West 6-3, 7-6 at No. 3 and was followed by Patrik Pech at No. 6 after he defeated Jorge Escutia 6-7, 6-1, 6-3. With only two matches left, Hernandez-Tong and Xander Veys battled at No. 1. Veyes managed to win the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 for the Bulldogs and tied the two opponents 3-3.
The last match came down to Rodolfo Jauregui and Henrique Osorio. With the coaches, teams and crowd on their feet for the last set, Osorio managed to clinch a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(2) victory over Jauregui at No. 4 that gave the Bulldogs the 4-3 victory.
The Lobos head to Reno, Nev. to face their second conference opponent on Sunday, Apr. 2 at 12:00 p.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. MT. Be sure to like and follow the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates on Sunday’s match.