ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team closed out their last home match of the season on Sunday afternoon with strong fight.
The Lobos (10-12, 3-3 MW) were defeated by the Aztecs (7-14, 3-3 MW) 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
In doubles play, Lawrence Perrin and Ricky Hernandez-Tong were quickly outmatched 6-1 by Milen Ianakiev and Santiago Cevallos of SDSU at the No. 1 spot. Jorge Escutia and Sean Baklini were soon defeated by Marko Goles-Babic and David Hough of SDSU 6-3 at the No. 3 spot that gave the doubles point to the Aztecs.
The battle between Bart Van Leijsen and Dominic West and Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Nicholas Mitchell was left unfinished 4-4 at the No. 2 spot.
In singles, Van Leijsen was defeated by Goles-Babic 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot, giving the Aztecs a 2-0 lead. Hernandez-Tong rebounded by posting a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ianakiev at the No. 2 spot. Baklini soon followed by defeating Houg 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6. This tied the Lobos and the Aztecs 2-2.
Perrin fell in three sets against Santiago Cevallos 2-6, 6-1, 3-6 at the No. 4 spot that put the Aztecs ahead 3-2. The last two matches came down Escutia and West at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots. Escutia’s battle against Joel Popov of SDSU was left unfinshed 0-6, 6-3, 4-5. West battled hard in three sets against Gjoels-Andersen but was defeated 6-3, 1-6, 2-6 at the No. 3 spot. This gave the Aztecs the final 4-2 victory over the Lobos.
Thank you to all the fans who came out to support the Loren Dils Fundraiser and the Lobo tennis teams this season!
New Mexico has one weekend left of season play before heading to the Mountain West Tournament in Boise, Idaho. The Lobos will face off with Denver on Friday, April 21 at 1 p.m. in Denver, Colo. before the regular season finale in Colorado Springs against Air Force on Saturday, April 22 at 11 a.m.
Fans can also follow the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates throughout the week.