ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The best type of Senior Day is one where there isn’t much doubt. With that in mind, Senior Day for the men’s tennis team went just about perfect. UNM got a huge tiebreaker win in doubles and then rolled in singles for a third straight shutout, winning 4-0 over San Diego State. The win was UNM’s fourth in a row and put the Lobos in position to win a second straight Mountain West title.
UNM is now 6-8 overall and 4-0 in Mountain West play, one game up on Fresno State and UNLV, which are both 3-1. UNM, which owns the tiebreaker over both, can win the title by winning any two of its final three matches in any combination.
That whole scenario was set up by another perfect weekend, and a team clearly strengthened by a raucous crowd of nearly 400 strong and that was into every point, erupting on Lobo aces and following every match with fervor. The ringleader for UNM was senior Dominic West, who posted two wins on the day and capped off a 4-0 week for himself.
It wasn’t quite so easy at first as the double point needed a tiebreaker after West and Sergio Molina, ranked No. 59 nationally in doubles, took the final three games for a 6-3 win. That was answered at No. 3 doubles as San Diego State’s Rafael Gonzalez and Aaro Pollanen took a break on the opening game and held it all the way for a 6-4 win.
The left it to UNM’s tandem of Raul Dobai and senior Jake Trondson. Down 6-5, Trondson served three straight aces to move it to 6-6, and UNM ruled the tiebreaker. The key swing was at 2-1 on serve when UNM got a pair of mini-breaks, one on a double fault and one on a sweet reaction shot from Dobai to go up 4-1. From there the tandem waltzed to a 7-3 win and UNM led 1-0.