LOGAN, UTAH — It’s been a great weekend of Mountain West Conference play for the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team!
The Lobos (10-10, 3-1 MW) snapped the nine match winning streak of the No. 39 Utah State Aggies (17-8, 3-1 MW) 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Academy & Racquet Club.
“I’m so proud of the guys today,” said head coach Ben Dunbar. “We had our best doubles point of the year and dealt with some serious adversity to win.”
Sean Baklini and Rodolfo Jauregui acquired the first doubles point for the Lobos after defeating Jaime Barajas and Andrew Nakajima of Utah State, 6-2, at the No. 3 spot. They were proceeded by Dominic West and Bart Van Leijsen when they claimed the second doubles point after defeating Jack Swindells and Jonas Maier of Utah State, 6-4, at the No. 2 spot. That point secured the Lobos double point advantage over the Aggies, 1-0.
The final doubles match between the dou of Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Lawrence Perrin and Utah State’s Kai Wehnelt and Samuel Serrano was left unfinished 5-5 at the No. 1 spot.
The Aggies came back and tied the match 1-1 when Samuel Serrano defeated Perrin, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 4 singles spot. The Lobos fought back and added two more wins to their lead when Van Leijsen swept Barajas at the No. 1 spot, 6-4, 6-3 and Hernandez-Tong took down Wehnelt in a close match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
At this point, the Lobos were leading the Aggies 3-1 and needed one more point to secure their second win of the weekend.
Then Jauregui was defeated by Sergiu Bucur of Utah State, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 5 spot and Jorge Escutia fell to Jonas Maier, 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 6 spot. This tied the Lobos and the Aggies once again but this time it was 3-3.
The final singles point came down to West and Swindelles at the No. 3 spot. West clinched the win, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, over Swindelles that gave the Lobos the final 4-3 victory over the Aggies.
“Our 1, 2, and 3 are really leading us,” added Dunbar. “But our 4, 5, and 6 won us the match at Boise too, so it was a successful weekend all around and all the guys should be feeling good heading home for next weekend! We will push to get better again this week and work towards a fun match on Friday against UNLV!”
Lobos improve to 10-10 overall, and 3-1 in the Mountain West, while Utah State drops to 17-8 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West.
The Lobos host their last two home matches of season next weekend against UNLV on Friday, Apr. 14 at 4 p.m. MT and San Diego State on Sunday, Apr. 16 at 1 p.m. MT at McKinnon Famiy Tennis Stadium.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates throughout the week.
Lobos Upset No. 39 Utah State Aggies, 4-3
