ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team snapped its five-game losing streak in dramatic fashion with a nail-biting, come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Pacific Tigers at the Estes Tennis Center inside the indoor bubbles in Albuquerque. The Lobos fought back from a 1-0 deficit after doubles and then a 3-2 deficit, edging past the Tigers with the two deciding points coming from freshmen Facundo Bermejo and Casey Recci.
“I am so happy to get the taste of winning. We had some ups and downs in this match, but I’m really proud that we hung tough and the two freshmen deserve a huge shout out for getting those wins down the stretch. Lots of positives to take and move on to next week. We will hope to have a good week of practice and continue to improve,” said head coach Ben Dunbar.
The back-and-forth competition began in doubles where Pacifc scratched out a 1-0 lead in a very evenly played doubles set. The first match to finish was the UNM doubles team of junior Dominic West and freshman Facundo Bermejo, and Pacific’s Akram El Sallaly and Tadiwa Chinamo. UNM fought hard, but fell just short of beating out Pacific, falling 7-5.
UNM then lost the doubles point when sophomore Tim Buttner and freshman Casey Recci lost to Josef Southcombe and John Horoz Garner. This match was went the distance, It went back-and-forth, but Pacific took the tiebreaker, giving the set to the Tigers 7-6, ending the doubles competition.
At the beginning of singles, it looked as if the Tigers were going to capitalize on the momentum created in doubles, as Akram El Sallaly took down Tim Buttner 6-1, 6-2. That gave Pacific a 2-0 lead, but that didn’t last. UNM got on the board as No. 3 singles as Stepan Holis took his opening set in a tiebreaker, giving him a lead over Chinamo Tadiwa. The deciding set was then easily won by Holis, beating Tadiwa 6-2, making it 2-1.
Dominic West then tied things up at 2-2, defeating Philip Hjorth again in a marathon, winning 7-5, 6-4. That put it down to a best-of-three. Pacific then took a 3-2 lead with a win at No. 1 singles. Pacific’s Ross Watson and UNM’s Ricky Hernandez Tong put on a thriller, with their first set also going to a tiebreak. However it was Watson who scored the win in straight sets 7-6, 6-3.
That left two matches left, with the two newest Lobos needing to win to break UNM’s five-match losing streak. Ironically for fans, the two matches were on the opposite ends of the bubbles, on the far courts of each. Despite the distance between the players to the fans, the tension was ripe as fans went back-and-forth to watch both matches.
UNM’s two newest rookie, Facundo Bermejo and Casey Recci were up to the task.
Bermejo faced Pacific’s Johnathan Lieu as Recci faced Southcombe in the other room. At first, it looked as though Recci was going to be the first to tally a point for the Lobos and tie the day. Recci dominated the first set with a 6-4 win, but faltered in the second set as Southcombe managed to tie it up with a 7-5 win. With the third set underway, all eyes then turned to Bermejo’s match.
After posting a 7-5 win in the first set, Bermejo trying to hold off a fierce comeback from Lieu. The second set, like many of the others, went to a tiebreaker. Even the tiebreaker needed extra time, as it was tied at 6-6, but after a switch of sides, Bermejo got a mini-break to close out the set 8-6 and tie things up at 3-3. That sent to match, and the fans, flocking to watch the third set between Recci and Southcombe.
Recci took control almost immediately with an early break, and then methodically pushed Southcombe around the court. Up 5-3, Recci was able to serve the match out, giving UNM a fun, harrowing and heart-stopping 4-3 win. The win was UNM’s first home match of the season, and it pushed UNM to 2-5 overall. UNM now heads to Stockton, California for the Mountain-Pacific Challenge before returning home for five straight.