SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jake Trondson picked up a win at No. 5 singles, but it was not enough as New Mexico lost a 6-1 decision to Santa Clara on the road in California. The Lobos now get nearly two weeks off before one final non-conference tune-up prior to defending their 2019 Mountain West title.
UNM did pick up one other win, a doubles win by Stepan Holis and Alex Maggs at No. 3 doubles, but that was UNM’s only win in doubles, as the team lost at No. 1 and No. 2 to fall behind 1-0.
From there, UNM scuffled, although Nicolas Prieto, making his season debut, was a late entry into No. 6 singles, and he narrowly lost a three-setter, falling 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6). Due to the match having been clinched, Prieto and his opponent Santiago Hinojosa played a 10-point tiebreaker.
The only other three-setter was Trondson’s win. He fell behind early, dropping the first set before blistering back to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. UNM was in it at No. 1 and No. 2, with Raul Dobai narrowly losing a 7-5, 7-5 match and Dominic West falling 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), dropping a tiebreaker that could have swung things in UNM’s favor at the time.
The Lobos will now have nine days before its next match, a 1 p.m. indoor match at home against Texas Tech. The match will be played at Estes as the women’s team is hosting Utah State at 1 p.m. at McKinnon that day, with Boise State and Air Force playing at 9:30 am that morning. UNM will then open conference play on April 1 against Fresno State. That match will be at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m.