Comeback Falls Just Short in 4-3 Loss at Boise
BOISE, Idaho — Trailing 3-0, UNM came storming back but the Lobos fell just short, losing the tiebreaking match in a third set 6-4 as Boise State defeated UNM 4-3, ending the Lobos’ 1099-day streak of Mountain West matches without a loss. The Lobos, who hadn’t lost a Mountain West match since April 13, 2018, fell to 6-9 overall but 4-1 in the league and still are no worse than tied for first place with two games left.
Boise State improved to 15-3 and 3-2 in the league. UNM is at worst tied for first with Fresno State (3-1 and at San Diego State later today) and UNLV (also 3-1 at hosting Nevada later today). UNM having already defeated both of those teams would win the Mountain West’s automatic berth into the NCAAs with wins over Utah State Sunday and Air Force next week. Utah State is also 3-2 in the Mountain West having defeated Air Force 4-2 on Friday.
UNM dropped the doubles point, and that would ultimately prove costly. UNM lost at No. 2 doubles as Raul Dobai and Jake Trondson fell 6-4, and Stepan Holis and Nicolas Prieto, playing together for the first time this season, lost 6-3. UNM’s nationally ranked duo of Dominic West and Sergio Molina were up 5-4 at the time.
The match went to singles where the teams split the first six opening sets. Two of those three that went to Boise State ended up finishing in straight sets as Simon Arca Costa defeated Rafael Abdulsalam at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-2 and then Wyatt DeMulling defeated Jake Trondson at No. 6 singles 6-2, 6-4. That gave BSU a commanding 3-0 lead. UNM however stormed back. Reigning Mountain West Player of the Week Dominic West got UNM within 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2, and then Holis made it 3-2 with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 win at No. 4.
Raul Dobai, who lost a tiebreaker in the opening set, was able to combat that setback and pull out a 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-1 win, winning 13 of the final 16 games to make it 3-3. That moved all the eyes at the Appleton Tennis Center to Court 5, where Sergio Molina had used an early break for a 2-0 lead. Up 3-1, Molina was broken in the fifth and seventh games to give Luka Soskic a 5-3 lead. Molina held for 5-4, but Soskic served it out for a Boise State win.
NOTES: West won his 58th career singles match … UNM’s match on Sunday at Utah State starts at 11 am. There will be both live video and stats should that match be played indoors.