Lobos Clinch Outright Title with Thrilling 4-3 Win
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — If the mark of a true champion is winning in the face of adversity, than The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team is a true champion. Thaey can also claim another moniker … outright champions.
Down 3-2, New Mexico got a win from Dominic West to tie the match at 3-3, and then Tim Buttner pulled through with a thrilling 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win to give the Lobos a 4-3 win over Air Force. That win was UNM’s ninth in a row, and it made UNM a perfect 7-0 in Mountain West play, clinching the outright regular season title. Utah State finished at 6-1 after defeating Boise State 4-0 earlier in the day.
The match marked the third time this season that UNM and an opponent ended up tied at 3-3, with the final singles match to decided the outcome. For the third time this season, UNM came out on top, and for the third time, it was a different Lobo in the back half of the lineup that won it. Against Pacific in a 4-3 win that kick-started UNM on its current streak of 12 wins in 13 matches, it was Casey Recci winning at No. 6 singles 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 after UNM was down 3-2. Against Boise State, Nicolas Prieto broke a 3-3 tie with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) come-from-behind win in which at 4-4 40-30 in the third set, he had to endure a rain delay and a change of venue.
This time, it was Buttner clinching it with a break of serve in the 12th game. UNM was down 3-2, but Dominic West was in complete control of his match, eventually winning his 22nd of the year, winning 6-2, 6-1, and that evened things at 3-3, and it set up the drama at No. 4 singles. Buttner entered the day with just one loss in his last seven matches, and he had won three of his last four opening sets. That was the key on Saturday as Buttner and his opponent Tadhg Collins were neck-and-neck all day. The opening set went to a tiebreaker, but Buttner had the better of play there, winning handily 7-3.
That set up the final set, with all eyes on Buttner and Collins after West’s match finished with the score 2-1 in favor of UNM. It progressed from there, each man holding serve and no one pushing ahead. Finally up 6-5, Buttner broke Collins and ended the match at 7-5, and giving UNM the win.
The Lobos will close out the regular season on Easter Sunday at Denver, facing the Pioneers at 1 p.m. Denver, much like UNM, went undefeated in league play, winning the Summit League regular season title. Live stats for the match can be viewed here.
NOTES: West’s win gave him 22 on the season in singles, and he is now one win ahead of Ricky Hernandez Tong and Stepan Holis … the last time UNM had at least three 20-game winners in singles was in 2012-13, when Rodolfo Jauregui (30), James Hignett (25), Samir Iftikhar (24), Hayden Sabatka (24) and Andy Van Der Vyver (20) all did it … it’s UNM’s first undefeated conference season since going 6-0 in the WAC in 1995.