Lobos Race to Fourth Straight Win 4-1 Over Drake
Box Score | 2019-20 Season Statistics
DES MOINES, Iowa — Raul Dobai won a pair of tiebreakers, including an insane 14-12 second-set tiebreaker that clinched a 4-1 win for New Mexico over Drake, the fourth straight win for UNM, and its first road win of the season. Tiebreakers were the story of the day as there were five in all and UNM won four of them.
Dobai’s were the most important, along with a 7-6 (7-1) win at No. 3 doubles by Stepan Holis and Facundo Bermejo that clinched the doubles point. In that tiebreaker, Bermejo suffered a mini-break on his opening serve, and then it was all UNM as the Lobos scored seven straight points, the final again off a Bermejo serve.
UNM got that doubles point as it also picked up a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles by Jake Trondson and Dobai.
In singles, UNM raced to a 3-0 lead on the strength of another win from Bermejo, winning 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Bermejo, who clinched UNM’s opening win of the season over BYU two weeks ago, now has a team-leading 15 wins, and he is now 4-1 at No. 5 singles.
Sergio Molina continued his strong play with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles over Evan Fragistas, putting UNM one win away from a clinch. Drake got one point back with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 win at No. 1 singles by Oliver Johansson over Dominic West, but that would be the only point for Drake, and the only tiebreaker won by the Bulldogs.
It looked like Drake would make it 3-2 at No. 2 singles, but Stepan Holis of UNM bounced back from a 6-2 loss in the first set to win the second by that same score. In the third, Holis fell behind 5-2 but won three straight games to even that up at 5-5.
It never finished because Dobai finally won his match after back-to-back tiebreaker wins. After winning the first set 7-4 in a tiebreak, he and opponent Reid Jarvis went back-and-forth in an epic tiebreaker. Dobai had five shots at match point, and he saved four of Jarvis’ before forcing Jarvis wide at 13-12 for the win.
UNM might have won it in moments anyways as Rafael Abdulsalam was up 6-5 in the second and close to clinching the match himself.
The Lobos avenged a loss to Drake last year at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium, their only home loss of the year. UNM takes on Michigan State at 10 am on Sunday in a match that will be played in Des Moines.
NOTES: Dobai and Bermejo have each won three straight singles matches … Trondson and Dobai are now 7-5 in doubles this year, and they have more matches than any other Lobo doubles combo.