Abdulsalam Clinches 4-3 Thriller Over BYU
PROVO, Utah — For the second straight year, a Lobo sophomore pulled out a three-set win leading to a massive dogpile as UNM defeated former conference rival BYU 4-3 once again. This time, it was Rafael Abdulsalam, who rode a service break in the fourth game to a 6-3 clinching win over Brocton Andrus, touching off a wild celebration 11 months in the making.
The win came in UNM’s season opener, and it marked the second straight season that UNM’s first win came at the expense of the Cougars. However, unlike last year’s 4-3 win at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium that came in UNM’s fifth game of the season, the Lobos won this one in a season opener with barely two weeks of practice. BYU dropped its third in a row to fall to 2-3.
The match took nearly four and a half hours to complete as BYU’s facility has just four courts, meaning the No. 5 and 6 singles matches couldn’t start until one of the other matches finished. What proved crucial however was the action in the first hour, as UNM swept the doubles point.
“That was a great college tennis match. It’s tough to win at BYU and they played a great match, but we could not be denied today,” said head coach Ben Dunbar. “The guys were tough up and down, and I’m proud of where we are at for this early in the year. We are so grateful to be playing and we loved being back on the court. Now focus slides to Utah, another great team and another great rivalry.”
Despite having the same players as a year ago, UNM switched up the doubles pairings. Jake Trondson and Raul Dobai won easily at No. 2 6-2 to give UNM a leg up. The other matches were much closer, with both sitting at 5-5. It was UNM’s No. 1 team of Sergio Molina and Dominic West that pulled off the doubles point with a break for a 6-5 lead on the way to a 7-5 win.
From there, the points bounced each way, with BYU tying the match three times, but never leading. Raul Dobai made his debut at No. 1, but it was spoiled by Sean Hill, who won 6-1, 6-2 to even the match at 1-1. From there, it was a battle everywhere else as the next three matches to finish all went a full three.
Stepan Holis put UNM in the lead again with a nice bounce back from a tough second set, winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. UNM really had a chance to put BYU on its heels early as Sergio Molina and Ben Gajardo were locked in an epic first set. Molina served himself back even at 6-6, and the tie breaker looked like Gajardo was going to run away with it early. Molina however stayed the course and forced a second change at 6-6, but Gajardo won the next two points for an 8-6 win.
That was key when Molina won the second set 6-4 to force a third set. While that was happening, West, utilizing a super senior season, bounced back from a first set loss at 6-4 to win his second 6-3, gaining a split and forcing a third. As Abdulsalam and Bermejo started their matches.
Up 2-1, things looked anything but positive as West fell behind 4-1 and Molina was down 4-2, with Bermejo behind a set and Abdulsalam up a set. Molina would lose 6-4 in the third, but it was West who pulled through, winning six of the next seven games, including four straight, to shock Mateo Melendez at No. 2 singles 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. That gave UNM a lead of 3-2.
That turned to 3-3 when Bermejo, who clinched the BYU win a year ago as a sophomore, lost 6-2, 7-5. That left it to Abdulsalam, who dropped his second set 6-2.
He opened on serve, and it stayed that way until he broke Dominik Jakovljevic in the fourth game to go up 3-1. From there, he just needed to hold serve, which he did to 5-3. There, serving for match point, he forced Jakovljevic deep to his backhand, and Rafa hammered home a shot that Jakovljevic sprayed long and wide. Abdulsalam turned to his left, flung his baseball cap towards his mates, and enjoyed a healthy dogpile.
UNM gets a day of rest before facing Utah on the second game of its season opening road trip on Sunday at noon.